


The Love of Parents.

by CristinaBlackthornKingson



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Animal Death, Animals, Babies, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Character of Color, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Blind Character, Broadway, Broadway References, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Queer Character of Color, Catholic Character of Color, Character Death, Character(s) of Color, Children, Children of Characters, College, Deaf Character, Disability, Disabled Character, Disabled Character of Color, Ectopic Pregnancy, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Female Character of Color, Gay, Gay Male Character, Hamilton References, Harvard University, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kid Fic, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, M/M, Male Character of Color, Minor Character Death, Miscarriage, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Multi, Musical Instruments, Musical References, Musicals, Non-binary character, Other, Pansexual Character, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Physical Disability, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Surrogacy, Teenagers, Trans Character, Two Fathers, Veterinary Clinic, Writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26838109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson
Summary: Henry and Alex have been through a lot together, and now are about to face their biggest journey together, raising children.From the smooth and easy birth of their first daughter to the complicated and traumatic delivery of their son, from raising babies, to children to teenagers and adults, Henry and Alex face it all, together.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz & June Claremont-Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz & Nora Holleran, Alex Claremont-Diaz & Oscar Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Arthur Fox & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Arthur Fox/Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Ellen Claremont/Leo, Ellen Claremont/Oscar Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Shaan Srivastava, June Claremont-Diaz/Nora Holleran, June Claremont-Diaz/Nora Holleran/Percy "Pez" Okonjo, June Claremont-Diaz/Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor/Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Nora Holleran/Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Zahra Bankston/Shaan Srivastava
Comments: 12
Kudos: 41





	1. Charlotte Catherine Elena Claremont-Diaz-Windsor.

***2030***

It is a warm Summer day in 2030, and Henry and Alex’s 5 bedroom home in Washington is filled with noise, the noise of 3 children all under ten, the youngest being 2. 

Henry and Alex welcomed their first daughter Charlotte Catherine Elena Claremont-Diaz-Windsor, back in 2023. She was born via traditional surrogacy with Henry being her biological father and Henry and Alex’s friend Sierra Garcia being her biological mother.

Becoming dads was one of the very best things Henry and Alex have ever done and from the moment Charlotte made her way into the world, crying at the top of her lungs, their lives have been better than they could have ever imagined. 

When Charlotte was 3, they welcomed their second daughter Anastasia (or Ana as she mostly goes by) Catalina Jane Rose Claremont-Diaz-Windsor, she was also born via traditional surrogacy and Henry and Sierra are also her biological parents. When Ana came along life became even better, more hectic and busy as well, but beautiful all the same. 

Then when Ana was 3 they welcomed their third and last child, Arthur Oscar Leo Philip Claremont-Diaz-Windsor who was also born via traditional surrogacy, having the same biological parents as his sisters. 

When Sierra was pregnant with Arthur, Henry and Alex decided to move back to DC to be closer to their family and friends, and also because their two bedroom brownstone New York apartment was too small now for 2 adults, 2 toddlers and a new baby.

As they were in the process of moving Sierra started having ectopic pregnancy symptoms and when she went to hospital it was discovered that she had actually been pregnant with twins, but only one implanted in the uterus, the other implanted in the Fallopian tube. She had emergency surgery that was thankfully successful but understandably traumatizing.

As if that wasn’t enough the baby also went through Intrauterine Growth Restrictions and at 34 weeks Sierra was diagnosed with pre-eclampisa, which put her in the hospital for two weeks before she was induced and finally gave birth to little Arthur, who weighed only a tiny 5lbs 6oz. 

At birth it was discovered that Arthur is blind in one eye and partially deaf. Thankfully Henry and Alex are able to provide him with the very best healthcare he needs, and have been learning ASL and using it with Arthur and the girls since Arthur was born. Arthur does talk a lot, and seems to be able to lip read quiet well for a 2 year old. He also wears hearing aids part-time, but doesn’t seem to like them so Henry and Alex never force them on him, and of course he will have every opportunity to try them again when he’s older.

Today has been a busy and hectic day in the Claremont-Diaz-Windsor household, Sophie and Ana are off school for Spring Break, and Arthur’s nursery is also closed for the week, so Henry and Alex have been trying to juggle their jobs, their relationship and keeping 3 small kids entertained. 

Right now Alex is out in the backyard, showing Ana and Arthur how to play football, so while there’s some quiet for a few minutes, Henry decides to go see what Sophie is up to, and spend some quality time with her.

After searching for a few minutes, Henry finally comes to a stop outside the music room, where he can hear random piano keys being pressed as someone makes an attempt at a melody. 

He pushes the door open slightly and sees Sophie sitting in front of the piano, her legs dangling off the stool, her long dark hair falling into her face as she leans forward to inspect the keys on the piano. Henry’s heart warms at the sight of her, and he quietly steps into the room. 

“Hi love.” He cheerfully says, slipping onto the stool beside her. “What are you up to?” 

“Trying to play piano, but it’s really hard!” Sophie tells him, pushing her hair back as she turns to look at him. 

“It is at first but once you get use to it it becomes easier, like second nature. I can teach you if you like.” He offers, knowing that Charlotte has always had a big interest in music, as a baby she would always fall asleep faster if music was being played, as a toddler she was always happiest when music was on, and now as a child she is obsessed with musicals and movie musicals, and could sit and listen to Henry play piano for hours, or listen to her Aunty Bea play guitar or violin, all day. 

“Really?” Charlotte hopefully asks, her eyes lighting up in delight. Henry smiles softly and nods. 

“Of course, I’ve always wanted to teach you or your brother or sister.” Henry tells her. 

“Daddy.” Charlotte begins in a curious tone. “Who taught you how to play piano?” 

“Your grandpa did, my love, before he passed away.” Henry softly says, as Charlotte leans into him. 

“Was he a good musician too?” 

“Yes, absolutely wonderful, he taught your Aunty Bea too.” 

“What about Uncle Pip?” Charlotte asks, knowing that she’s never seen her Uncle with a musical instrument in all her life.

“Well your grandpa did offer to teach your Uncle Pip to play something, but he wasn’t interested.” 

“How come?” 

“Well it’s just not his thing darling, your Uncle Pip prefers books to music, your Aunty Martha plays though, she plays the cello.” At this, Sophie’s eyes light up, she never knew that. 

“Really? But daddy I thought Aunty Martha was an artist, thought she did drawings and paintings and stuff!” Sophie says. 

“She does, that’s her main passion and job, it’s what she went to college for, but she loves music too and plays cello as a hobby.” 

“Do you think she’ll teach me?” Charlotte asks in a hopeful tone. 

“Yes love I’m sure she will if you ask her, have you asked your Aunty Bea to teach you violin and guitar yet?” Henry asks, smoothing Charlotte’s hair down, knowing that Charlotte wants to learn as many musical instruments as she can. 

“Uh-hu! And she said she will! Daddy when are we going to England again?” Charlotte asks, dying to have her first music lesson with her Aunty Bea. 

“Next month, for grandma’s birthday, then when we get back we’re going down to Texas to the lake house for our family vacation, with your abuelo and _Tías_ June and Nora and your _Tío_ Pez.” Henry explains, making a mental note to start packing in advance, they’ll be in England for 2 weeks then come home for a few days, then go straight down to Texas for the weekend, it’s going to require a lot of planning. 

“Daddy, are princess allowed to have jobs?” Charlotte suddenly asks in a curious tone, her brow furrowed making her look as though she’s deep in thought. 

“Absolutely, look at me I’m a Prince and I have a job, I’m an author, and Aunty Bea is a musician and plays in orchestras all the time, and before she became Queen your grandma use to teach reception.” Henry tells her, wanting her to know she can do whatever she damn well likes with her life, Princess or not. 

“That’s good because I wanna be an actor when I grow up, like grandpa!” This takes Henry by surprise, he thought Charlotte might go into music like Bea, or maybe be a writer like him, or even a lawyer like Alex (Even at 8 she’s a hell of an arguer and always gets her way because she talks so much sense.) but he never expected her to want to be an actor, and he certainly didn’t expect her to say ‘like grandpa’ it’s still difficult to hear his kids talk about his dad and know they’ll never meet him.

“R-really?” Henry manages to croak out. Sophie nods enthusiastically. 

“Uh-hu! I’m going to be the main actor in the movies they make based on your books daddy!” She tells him, which immediately pulls him from his shock and makes him feel so full of love and gratitude for this sweet little girl beside him. Henry puts his arm around Charlotte and kisses the top of her head. 

“That’s absolutely wonderful my baby, you’re going to be the best actor the world has ever seen.” 

****2036****

It is a cool October day in 2036, when at only 14 years old, Charlotte makes the choice of what she wants to do for the rest of her life.

On this cold October day Alex has been sitting in his car just outside Charlotte’s High-School, waiting for her to finish, for the past ten or so minutes.

She’s only been at High-School for a month or so now but she’s already loving it and thriving, and thankfully not the only famous child at the school, plenty of celebrities kids go here, it’s where Ana and Arthur will attend High-school, as well as June, Nora and Pez’s kids Mateo and Mía, though that’s quiet far away, seeing as Mateo is only 6 and Mía is only 1.

After about 15 minutes, kids start to file out of the school, and Alex soon spots a familiar tumble of dark hair. Soon after he spots her, Charlotte spots him and smiles broadly and waves, Alex is so glad she’s not yet at the stage where she’s embarrassed by her parents, he dreads that day. 

He grins widely and waves back, his smile brightening when Charlotte opens the passenger door and climbs into the car. 

“Hi papa!” She enthusiastically greets him. 

“Hey kiddo, good day?” He asks, as she puts her seat-belt on. 

“Uh-hu, where’s dad?” Charlotte asks, knowing that usually both her dads pick her up. 

“At work, he’s got a meeting with his publicist today so we’ve gotta swing by the middle school and elementary school and pick up Ana and Arthur, too” Alex replies, starting to back out of the parking spot. 

“Can I go see Ellie today, when we get home?” Charlotte hopefully asks, thinking of one of her closest friends Eleanor Kahmila Srivastava , Shaan and Zahra’s eldest daughter who was named after Ellen, and is just a year younger than Charlotte. 

“If you finish your homework on time and your Uncle Shaan and Aunt Zahra say it’s alright.” Alex agrees, still thrilled that the girls are such close friends, after all Zahra has done for him and all Shaan has done for Henry, the two of them are closer than family. 

“So anything interesting happen at school today?” Alex starts a new conversation, as they make their way toward the middle school.

“Well we had a class with our guidance counselor and she asked us what we want to do when we’re older.” Charlotte begins. 

“And do you know what you want to do?” Alex asks, knowing that Charlotte has changed her mind on her career path ever since she was old enough to understand the prospect of a career. 

“Uh-hu, I told you ages ago papa, remember? I’m going to be an actor like grandpa!” Alex remembers that conversation from when Charlotte was 8, but he didn’t think _she_ would or that she would still want the same job. 

“I do remember sweetheart but I thought you might have changed your mind.” He gently says, not wanting her to think he doesn’t support her. 

“Nope, and guess what papa!” Charlotte excitedly says, making Alex chuckle. 

“What?” 

“My teacher said I should apply for Julliard!” There’s no denying it’s a huge ambition, but Alex has every faith in his daughter, he knows if she works hard and really dedicates herself to it she can get in. (She could probably get in based on the fact that she’s a Princess, but she would never use her title like that, he and Henry have taught her better.) 

“Well they’re right, if that’s what you want to do sweetheart I know you can land an audition for Julliard.” Alex tells her in a proud and encouraging tone. 

“I think I want to audition for their musical theater course, I really love acting and music and I really want to combine them by doing musical theater.” Charlotte tells him, which comes as no surprise to Alex, Charlotte has always loved musicals. Her favorite movies are _Mary Poppins_ and _Mary Poppins Returns,_ she’s watched all the classic Disney movies multiple times over, and multiple live Broadway and West-End shows, she even got to go on a back-stage tour of _Wicked_ when she was 10, when one of Henry’s old friends from college was playing a leading role in the show. 

“That’s awesome baby girl, you’ll be amazing!” Alex grins, as they come to a stop at a set of traffic lights. 

“Thanks, hey papa, do you... do you think it would be possible for me to get some singing lessons, please? I promise I’ll work super hard at it and learn all the grades and practice all the time, and it doesn’t have to be with a famous Broadway Star or anything, my music teacher at school does them for cheap, I could go to her?” Charlotte pleads, knowing that though her family isn’t stuck for money by any means, they’re not frivolous people either who just throw money any and every which way. 

“Oh Lottie don’t worry about the money aspect of it, I’m very proud of you for thinking about the financial side of this but you’re still a kid, you have a few more years before you need to start worrying about money. You find a singing teacher you would like to work with, get in touch with them and find out their rate, and dad and I will worry about the money, okay?” Alex gently says, reaching over to squeeze her hand reassuringly. He really couldn’t be more proud of Charlotte, she is so smart and responsible and mature, somehow he and Henry didn’t fuck her up, hopefully they haven’t fucked up with Ana or Arthur either. 

Charlotte nods enthusiastically and before the light goes green, she reaches over and quickly hugs Alex.

“Thanks papa, you’re the best.” She softly says, Alex drops a kiss to the top of her head. 

“My pleasure baby girl, just don’t forget you’re precious papa when you’re a big famous Broadway and West-End star!” 

4 years later Charlotte becomes the first in the family in her generation to attend college, when she passes her Julliard audition with flying colors and is accepted into their musical theater program, making Henry and Alex the proudest parents in the world. Henry won’t stop hugging Charlotte and telling her how proud of her he is, while Alex keeps saying he’s definitely going to be that dad who gets a mug, car sticker and t-shirt that says ‘My kid goes to Julliard’ and he also promises to be at every show she is ever in and proudly point her out to people and tell them ‘That’s my baby!’” Needless to say Charlotte is both amused and mortified. 

Over the next 4 years Charlotte works as hard as she possibly can at Julliard, putting in as much effort as humanly possible, pouring blood sweat and tears into every project and every performance big or small, and at just 22 years old graduates with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama. 

Just a week later, Charlotte makes a post on Instagram that she has been waiting months to make.

The picture in the post, is of Charlotte standing in a room with mirrors, and tables covered in fabric, pins, needles, scissors, measuring tapes, etc.

In the picture, Charlotte is dressed in a pink, silk, 18th century ballgown style dress. most of her dark curly hair is sitting free around her shoulders, though some has been clipped back behind her head. She is grinning ear to ear in the photo, her eyes alight with joy.

The caption reads as follows:

**_So so so excited to finally be able to tell you all my big news!!_ **

**_A few months ago I went to an open audition for_ Hamilton, _not expecting anything of it, but I got called back each and every time and now I get to tell you that in 6 short months, I will be taking on my first professional acting job, and playing Angelica Schuyler at the Richards and Rodgers Theater, 8 shows a week!!_**

**_This has been my ultimate dream role for so, so long, I can hardly believe it’s coming true, how amazing is it that I, the granddaughter of the first female President of America, get to play one of America’s Founding Mothers?? I am so lucky!_ **

**_See y’all in the audiences soon!_ **

**_#Includewomeninthesequel_ **

Charlotte spends almost every day over the next 6 months in rehearsals, leaving at 9 in the morning and not getting back till 10 at night, but it is all so worth it when on a warm July night she finds herself standing in the wings of the theater, her heart racing as she waits to hear the opening notes of the show, and step out onto the stage for the first time. 

Standing in the wings waiting to go on with her new friends and co-stars who play Eliza and Peggy, just before _The Schuyler Sisters_ , Charlotte is almost certain she is about to throw up, but once she sets foot on stage she loses herself in the role of Angelica, she forgets about Charlotte Claremont-Diaz-Windsor for those few minutes, and becomes Angelica Schuyler. 

After that she is itching to get back on stage, and when she feels sick before going on for _Satisfied,_ she knows it’s from excitement and not nerves.

By the time _Take a Break_ rolls around, her nerves have totally vanished, when it’s time for _It’s Quiet Uptown_ , she is lost in the role completely, and flies through _The Reynolds Pamphlet,_ and _Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story._

The show goes by in an unimaginable blur for Charlotte, especially as she knows majority of her family and friends are here tonight, even her Grandma, Queen Catherine, is here. She was heavily advised against it by her equerry and other staff but refused to miss out on her granddaughter’s Broadway debut for the role she has heard her talking about since she was little.

As promised, while waiting outside the theater for Charlotte, with Henry, Ana, Arthur, June, Nora, Pez, his parents, Catherine and the rest of their family, Alex takes every opportunity he can to mention that Charlotte is his daughter. 

“Wonderful performance tonight, wasn’t it?” A cheerful woman standing next to Alex asks. He grins and nods. 

“Absolutely wonderful! Hey, see this girl here, who played Angelica?” He asks opening his playbill and pointing to Charlotte’s picture. The woman nods. “That’s my daughter, Charlotte.” He proudly tells her. 

“Really? Goodness she’s a powerhouse! You must be so proud!” The woman replies. 

“That I am!”

Alex spends at least another 10 minutes telling anyone he can that his daughter just stared in the show, and that he’s the one who would sing to her as a baby and she gets her confidence and talent from him and his side of the family. 

“Don’t I get any credit for how amazing our daughter turned out?” Henry asks in an amused tone, after Alex just spent 5 minutes telling a random man about how awesome Charlotte is.

“Well I mean she gets her beauty from somewhere.” Alex teases. Henry laughs and kisses his cheek. 

“So shallow.” He chuckles. 

“You love me really!” 

“Yes, for some reason I do.” 

Charlotte stays in her role of Angelica for 2 years, before moving on to play The Baker’s Wife in _Into The Woods_ , for a year, then she plays Veronica in _Heathers_ for 6 months (she may be 25 but she hardly looks 18.) 

Then, 3 years after making her Broadway Debut, Charlotte is visiting her grandma in England, when she reveals some extremely big and exciting news to her over a late evening chat. 

“Grandma, remember a year ago I told you I had this big project in the works but I couldn’t tell you or anyone about it just yet?” Charlotte asks, setting her mug of tea down and resting her arms on the cushion in her lap.

“Yes, what about it?” Catherine asks, eyeing her granddaughter wearily, knowing that much like Alex and much like Bea, she’s a mischievous young thing and loves to surprise and prank people. 

“I can finally tell you what it is! Ready to hear it?” Charlotte excitedly asks. Catherine nods. 

“So you know the composer Justin Paul, right? He wrote things like La-La Land and Dear Evan Hansen?” Again Catherine nods. “Well last year he contacted me to do a workshop of a musical he was working on, we worked on it for a few months and it went really well and now it’s going to be a full-blown musical.”

“Really? What’s it about?” Catherine curiously asks. Charlotte grins widely.

“You, Grandma. It’s about you, and your Reign as Queen and all the amazing changes you have made for the country, especially after your mum and how conservative she was.

It’s going to be called _The Crown,_ and guess who’s going to be playing you grandma?” 

Catherine is totally shocked and hardly manages to ask “Who?” 

“Me.” Charlotte softly says. “Justin contacted me because he felt like I would be the best person to originate the role, because I grew up around you and you helped to raise me, I was born just a couple months after you were Crowned so you’ve been Queen my whole life, but you’re more than the Queen to me, you’re my grandma first and my Queen second, whereas your mum, the odd time I saw her as a kid, was my Queen first and my great-grandmother second. 

We also consulted Aunty Bea, to help us with the writing about yours and grandpas relationship. I think we’ve done it justice and we didn’t go into anything crazy personal, but we touched on the important parts.

Paul and I want to give you and the family a private showing before we open, and if there’s anything you’re not happy with we’ll fix it before we open, I promise.

So... what do you think?” 

By the time Charlotte has finished her explanation Catherine has tears running down her face. As quickly as she can at 80-odd years of age, Catherine gets up to sit beside Charlotte, and pulls her into a tight embrace. 

“I am honored and thrilled my little love, and I couldn’t ask for a better person to play me and portray me right, I love the sound of everything and I cannot wait to see this show, but there is one small request I have.” She says, pulling back and taking her granddaughter’s hands into hers. Charlotte nods, wiping at her own tears. 

“Of course grandma, what is it?” She asks. 

“Let me help cast the person who will play your grandfather, I would suggest your brother or one of your cousins if you weren’t playing me, but you are and you will be absolutely amazing my darling, and I want your grandfather to be portrayed as perfectly as I know you will portray me.” 

“Of course grandma, of course.”

So over the next few months Catherine helps them find the perfect actors for not only Arthur, but for the rest of the family as well. 

When the show opens a year later, it is instantly a smash hit, earning rave reviews everywhere, and a quick transfer to both Broadway and The West-End.

It’s the role that makes Charlotte go down in musical theater history, and a role she will always hold closely in her heart. 

She stays in the role for 2 years, before receiving the devastating news from her parents, that her grandmother passed away.

She is immediately given 3 months compassionate leave, her cover Ella, will take over and knowing what a fabulous performer she is, leaves Charlotte with no guilt.

In the end she takes 6 months compassionate leave, (though after 3 months it is unpaid) and on the night of the 6 month anniversary of her grandmother’s passing, Charlotte makes the decision to step down from the role permanently, no longer being able to think of her grandmother without breaking down in tears.

And so on a cold October night at the Booth Theater, Charlotte hangs up her costume for the last time, before heading to the airport to board a plane, to attend her Uncle Philip’s Coronation.


	2. Anastasia Catalina Jane Rose Claremont-Diaz-Windsor.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Henry and Alex welcome their second daughter Anastasia, she and David immediately form a very strong bond and hardly ever leave each other's sides for the next 5 years, but when David falls ill when Ana is 5, it will impact her for the rest of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW/CW**
> 
> Death  
> Loss of a pet.  
> Animal death.  
> Pet death.   
> Mentions of Trauma.

It is a warm Summer’s day in New York, 2025, when Henry and Alex welcome home their second daughter, 2 days after her birth, their little Anastasia Catalina Jane Rose Claremont-Diaz-Windsor. 

“You ready to have your sister home, Lottie?” Alex gently asks, looking down at 2 year old Charlotte, who had been staying with Ellen and Leo while Alex and Henry were at the hospital with Sierra and Ana, the last few days. 

“Uh-hu! I show her my room?” Charlotte hopefully asks, as Alex slides his key into the lock, while Henry catches up to them, carrying Ana in her carrier. 

“Of course you can _mija_ , once we get her settled in you can give her the grand tour of the place if you like.” Alex suggests. Charlotte nods enthusiastically, as Alex opens the door and ushers Charlotte in before him, silently thanking Nora for coming over a few hours before they got home to turn the AC on. 

“Welcome home Ana.” Henry softly says, smiling at little Ana, wide awake in her carrier, suckling happily on her pacifier. 

Just then they hear the sound of David’s collar jingling and his footsteps on the wooden floors, and he soon runs around the corner and into the living room, bounding over towards Henry, Alex and the girls.

“Day-Day!” Charlotte exclaims in delight, throwing her arms around the beagle and earning many a happy lick to the cheek from David, making her giggle while David wags his tail vigorously. 

“Come on Lottie, lets go check that David didn’t have any accidents since _Tía_ Nora left.” Alex says, holding his hand out to Charlotte, who giggles and takes his hand, skipping along by his side.

With Alex and Charlotte now gone, David turns his attention to Henry and Ana. He and Alex know exactly how to introduce a dog to a new baby, they learned when Sierra was pregnant with Charlotte. They’ve already brought home clothes that Ana had worn, and let David smell them, he’s already use to sharing their attention and is use to baby objects like cribs, and he’s very good with Charlotte, so there’s no doubt he’ll be just as good with Ana.

“Hey mate.” Henry gently says, setting Ana’s carrier on the sofa, still keeping a grip on the handle. “You going to come say hi to your new friend?” David calmly walks over to the sofa and jumps up on his front paws to get closer to Ana, leaning in to sniff curiously, with Henry keeping a hand on his collar just in case. After a few seconds of sniffing, David starts to wag his tail and licks Ana’s little hand, and then her cheek. Henry prepares for this to set Ana off, but she remains completely calm and at ease. When David licked Charlotte when she was a baby, she screamed bloody murder for a solid half hour, it seems like Ana is going to be different. 

A few weeks later, Henry is in the kitchen making up bottles of formula for Ana, while Alex is in the living room with Charlotte, David and Ana.

Just as Henry has finished the last of the bottles, he hears Alex give a soft gasp and then hears him call out

“Oh my god, Henry you gotta come see this, my heart is going to melt!” 

Henry wonders what Alex is being so bloody dramatic about now, and makes his way back into the living room.

Once there he understands why Alex feels like his heart is going to melt. 

On the sofa next to Alex, Ana has fallen asleep in her portable bassinet, and curled up beside her is David, with his head resting protectively on her stomach. Charlotte’s little hands have come up to rest on David’s back, It is possibly the cutest thing he has ever seen. 

“Did you put them like that?” Henry softly asks Alex, who shakes his head. 

“No, I was just sitting here with the girls and David came up and curled up next to Ana like that, babe look at how much he loves her and how much she loves him, they’re going to be best pals!” Alex exclaims. Henry smiles softly. 

“Yes, that they are. I think we’ve got a little animal lover on ours hands.”

And Henry could not have been more right, from that moment on it is quiet clear that Ana and David have a special bond. Though David is not allowed to be next to her while she’s in her co-sleeper in Alex and Henry’s bed, he will always curl up at the foot of her co-sleeper at night, waking up when she does, only going back to sleep when he knows Ana is settled and happy. He lies with her during her naps and sits with Henry and Alex during her feedings and when they change her diaper or clothes. 

At 8 months old Ana says her first words, but not ‘Da-da’ or ‘Papa’, or anything like that, no her first words are ‘Day-Day’ while pointing happily to David, her best friend.

At 10 months old she takes her first unsteady and wobbly steps, Henry and Alex had been so hoping she would walk to one of them, seeing as Charlotte took her first steps to Pez, but Ana takes her first steps toward David, 3 wobbly steps across the living room floor with a big smile on her face, before she promptly collapses on her butt and throws her arms around David in a hug, who is more than happy to receive her hug.

It’s clear to anyone that Ana and David are the very best of friends, when the family go on walks Ana always wants to help Alex or Henry hold David’s leash, and David never strains or pulls on the leash when Ana is holding it, unlike he does with Alex or Henry, or even Charlotte sometimes. 

It becomes common for David and Ana to nap together, and by the time Ana is 2, it’s no unusual sight in the Claremont-Diaz-Windsor home, to see Charlotte conked out lying on the sofa, a pacifier in her mouth, a bottle in her hand while she is curled up with David. 

When Arthur is born when Ana is 3, when they are eventually able to take him home from the hospital, Ana is the one to help them introduce David to her brother, and soon Arthur has 3 little protectors at all times, his sisters and his dog. 

2 years after Arthur's birth, David starts to act very unlike himself in a very worrying way.

The first thing that Henry and Alex notice is wrong, is David waking them up several times a night to take him outside to pee, normally whichever one of them is up with Arthur (At 2 years old their little guy is going through a sleep regression, which they are too familiar with from having only gone through it with Ana 2 years ago and Sophie 6 years ago.) in the middle of the night, will also take David out so he can use the bathroom, depending on what time that is, David is then usually fine till morning. It’s been this way ever since Sophie was born.

Now all of a sudden David is waking them at least 4 times a night, whining and scratching at the front door, it’s like having a newborn again.

Along with that David has also gone off his food and seems very tired. At first Henry and Alex weren’t too worried, David is getting on in years and has spent the last 8 years of his life running around after his little human friends, it’s no wonder he’s tired. But then he stopped racing to the door to jump at and greet Henry, Alex and the kids whenever they got back from somewhere, and would no longer bound upstairs with them all at night and curl up at the foot of Ana’s bed, like he’s been doing her whole life. 

What concerns Henry and Alex the most, and makes them call their vet and book David in for an appointment, is when David starts to retch and vomit, it frightens the kids and is clearly absolute hell for the poor pup.

“I’m going to call the vet, see if she can see David in the morning, something’s not right.” Henry quietly tells Alex, crouching by David’s side on the kitchen floor, soothingly stroking his back while Alex finishes cleaning up what David just vomited up.

“Good idea, poor guy’s clearly pretty miserable, hopefully it’s just a stomach bug or something.” Alex sighs, putting the mop back in the bucket and moving to the sink to wash his hands. Henry nods. 

“I hope so too, if anything happened to him the kids would be devastated, especially Ana.”

So the next morning while Alex takes the kids to his mom and Leo’s to distract them, Henry takes David to the vet and waits there while the vet runs some tests on David. 

After waiting about an hour, keeping himself occupied by texting updates to Alex and looking at the adorable photos Alex sends him of Ellen, Leo and the kids, Henry is finally called back into the exam room by the vet, where David is resting comfortably in a dog bed on the exam table. 

“Your Highness.” The vet quietly says, in a tone that immediately makes Henry’s heart race and gives him a gut feeling that whatever she’s about to tell him isn’t good. 

“Please, just call me Henry.” He insists, always wanting to do away with the formalities. The Vet (Dr. Miller) smiles and nods. 

“Henry, I’m afraid it’s not good news. From the tests I’ve run and they symptoms you’ve described to me, I’ve been able to diagnose David with Stage 4 Kidney Disease." Henry almost swears he can feel his heart break, his poor, poor David must be suffering so horrendously. 

“I-is there anything we can do?” Henry croaks out. 

“There are treatments we could try but at this stage they are very unlikely to work, especially given his age.” She quietly says.

Henry grips the table for support, he can’t imagine not having David, he’s been with him since Henry was 18, he got him just after his dad died. He was there for every moment big and small in Henry’s life, he was one of the only things that kept him going after his dad died. 

He was the first to ever know Henry is gay, he was there when Henry began to fall in love with Alex, when they began dating and Henry moved to NYC, David came with him and helped ease his nerves on the flight.

When Alex proposed to Henry 10 years ago, he had involved David, attaching a sign that reads ‘Will you marry my dad?’ to David’s collar, and having him run to greet Henry when he came in the door from meeting with Shaan and his publicist weeks before his first novel was released. 

David was at their wedding, standing at the alter with them, dressed in a little tuxedo of his own and sitting patiently and happily with Pez, who was Henry’s best man.

2 years after that, when they found Sierra was pregnant with Sophie, David was there. He was there when they got the call that Sierra was in labor, and was there by their side for every midnight feed and change with all three babies. How is it possible that he just won’t be around anymore? 

“I.... how long does he have?” Henry weakly asks, trying to hold back his tears. 

“Not long, about 2 weeks I would say, perhaps a bit longer but not much.” Dr. Miller gently says. Only 2 weeks? How is Henry suppose to say goodbye to his best mate of 15 years, in just 2 weeks? God, how are the kids suppose to say goodbye? Ana is going to be devastated, maybe even traumatized. She has such a strong and special bond with David, has done from the moment she was born. How is he meant to break the news to her and the other 2? 

“What... what do we do now?” Henry quietly asks as his throat tightens up.

“Well you have 2 options. You could have David put to sleep, it will be very quick and painless, he’ll just slip away. Or you could let him go naturally, I can give you pain medicine to make him comfortable and give you tips and advice on other ways to make his last days as good as possible.” Dr. Miller gently and softly explains. Henry knows what choice he wants to make, but he’s not making this choice alone, he has to talk to Alex.

“I... I’ll need to talk to my husband before we make any decisions.” Henry says, wiping at his tears. 

“Of course, take all the time you need and when you’re ready let me know what you’ve decided on.”

Henry knows he needs to see and talk to Alex right away, and he needs to hug and hold his children close before he has to explain to them the awful news that they're going to lose David. So, on his way home he calls Pez and asks if it’s alright if he drops David with he, Nora and June for a few hours. Thankfully Pez happily agrees, saying it will be good practice for the 3 of them to take care of another living being, seeing as June is pregnant with their first baby. 

After dropping David off with Pez, Nora and June (and having his mood lifted somewhat when June insisted he feel the baby kick) Henry makes his way to Ellen and Leo’s house, where they’ve lived happily and comfortably since Ellen finished her second term in 2024 and happily handed the reigns over to the fabulous current President Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez .

When Henry knocks on the door, his heart is lifted somewhat when he is greeted by the warm and welcoming smiling face of his wonderful mother-in-law. 

“Hi sugar, you okay darling? You look pale.” Ellen greets, a frown tugging at her mouth and her eyes filling with concern as she looks Henry over, placing a hand on his cheek. Henry smiles and lets himself lean into her motherly touch. 

“I’m alright thanks Ellen, just... some not great news at the vets, did Alex tell you about David being ill?” Henry asks. Ellen nods. 

“He did, and so did Ana, poor little thing has been worrying about him all day. Alex is in the living room on a call but he’ll be done soon, you go ahead in and Leo and I will keep the kids occupied.” Ellen says, standing back to allow Henry in. 

“Thanks Ellen, you really are the best mum-in-law.” 

When Henry walks into the living room, Alex is just getting off the phone, and once he has said goodbye to who he was talking to, he turns and smiles brightly at Henry. 

“Hey babe.” He greets. “How did everything go at the vets?” Henry sighs and rakes a hand through his hair. 

“Not good.” He admits. “Not good at all.” 

“What did Dr. Miller say?” Alex asks in a concerned tone, placing a hand on Henry’s arm, his worry growing when he sees tears start to well up in Henry’s eyes. 

“David’s got stage four kidney failure, there’s nothing they can do for him, he’s dying Alex.” Henry’s voice is barley above a whisper as his throat tightens. 

“Oh god, oh Hen.” Alex immediately pulls his husband in for an embrace, his own heart breaking at the thought of loosing David, he hasn’t loved him as long as Henry has, but he’s been in Alex’s life for 11 years, when Sophie was on the way, Alex practiced his diaper changing skills by putting diapers on David, who was totally compliant and happy to let Alex do whatever, as long as he got lots of pats and scratches and belly rubs as a reward.

And the kids, god how the hell are they going to tell the kids? Will Arthur even understand, at only 2? Will he remember David when he grows up, like Sophie and Ana likely will? 

“What do we do now?” Alex quietly asks, pulling back from his embrace with Henry but keeping a tight hold on his husband’s hands. 

“Dr. Miller said we can either have David put to sleep or let him slip away on his own, if we choose to let him go on his own she can provide him with painkillers and give us advice and tips on other ways to make his last days as comfortable as possible.” Henry says. 

“I think we should let him go on his own, as long as we can make him comfortable, I think it will help for the kids to have as long as possible to say goodbye, and I think it would be better if David passes away at home, where he can be happy and at peace before he slips away.” Alex tells Henry, his own voice growing weak and tight at the thought of loosing David. Henry nods.

“I agree, I’ll call Dr. Miller this evening and let her know. Only question now is, how do we tell the kids?” 

“I don’t know, I think we need to do some research on it, is David back at home?” Alex asks. 

“No, I left him with Nora, Pez and June.” Alex’s eyes grow wide in alarm. 

“You left our poor dying dog with my sister who I swear on all that is precious, is a damn witch? Henry she’s going to put a hex on him or something!” Alex exclaims, making Henry chuckle. 

“You’re an absolutely rotten brother, David is in perfectly safe hands, he’s teaching the three of them how to care for another living being before the baby is born, besides even if June is a witch- and she’s not- she’s far too tired and sick to do anything to poor old David, he’s probably having a grand old time cuddling her and the bump.” Henry says, remembering how David would always lay in Sierra’s lap each time she was pregnant, and rest his head on her bump. He’s very protective of pregnant people and babies. 

“She’s probably so sick because the baby’s stealing all her witchy powers, oh! Or because she’s a witch and Pez is... what supernatural creature _is_ Pez? Fey maybe? A warlock?” Henry laughs again and rolls his eyes. 

“Again, horrible brother, and even more horrible brother in law. Pez is.... well he’s Pez, and we love him. Come on, lets get the kids into the car, pick up David and do some research on how to break the news to them, tonight, let them have one last normal evening with him.” Henry softly says, leaning against Alex and looking out into the backyard, where Charlotte and Ana are chasing after eachother, giggling loudly, while Arthur watches on from his place in Ellen’s arms, his face lighting up when Leo leans in to kiss Ellen before bending to press a kiss to Arthur’s cheek. 

The next morning, after breakfast, Henry and Alex approach the kids in the living room, where Charlotte is watching her favorite movie, Mary Poppins Returns, with Arthur beside her intrigued by all the different colors and shapes on screen, while Ana lays on her stomach on the floor, coloring in a coloring book that explains and celebrates race diversity, that Oscar got her.

“Hey babies.” Alex softly greets his children, happily scooping Arthur up when he reaches up for him the moment he sees him. “Lottie sweetheart, do you mind pausing your movie for a while? And Ana, can you come back to your coloring in a bit? Daddy and I want to talk to you 3 about something pretty important.” 

Charlotte nods and pauses the movie, while Ana sets her crayon down and sits up to face her parents and siblings. 

“So.” Henry begins. “You’ve noticed that lately poor old David hasn’t been feeling too well, right?” He gently asks, while also signing along in ASL for Arthur. They nod. 

“Well while you were at _abuelita_ and _abuelito's_ place today with your papa, I took David to the vet and she told me some very sad news. Unfortunately David is very, very sick, and he’s also very old, and when older dogs get sick it’s much harder for them to get better.” Henry pauses for a moment, trying to think of what to say next. 

“Is he really sick like grandpa was, daddy?” Charlotte quietly asks, having known all her life that before her parents even met, her grandpa became very ill and died, and is now in some sort of happy and peaceful afterlife, looking out for her and her brother and sister. 

“Yes love, almost exactly like grandpa.” Henry quietly says. 

“Is David going to die?” Ana quietly asks, tears already forming in her eyes. 

“I’m afraid so baby.” The tears start to fall down Ana’s face. 

“When?” 

“We don’t know exactly sweetheart, but within the next few weeks, the vet says 2 weeks, but it might be a little longer or it might be a little shorter.” Henry gently explains. 

“Will he be sad, and hurt?” Charlotte asks. This time Alex speaks up. 

“No _mija_ , Dr. Miller is going to give David some medicine that will take his pain away, and we’re going to make him nice and comfy here at home and make sure he has a very peaceful passing.” Alex pauses for a second, before speaking again. “Do you remember 2 years ago, when we went to stay in Mexico with _Abuelo_ , _Tía_ June, _Tía_ Nora and _Tío_ Pez, for a few months, when your _bisabuela_ was sick and about to pass away?” 

“Uh-uh.” 

“And do you remember how we would sit with her and tell her stories, and _Abuelo_ would bring her food and blankets and take really good of her, so she was happy and comfy before she died?” Alex gently asks. Both girls nod, while Arthur just looks at him with big blue eyes, having no memories of this time seeing as he was only 10 months old. “Well that’s what we’re going to do for David, tell him lots of happy stories, bring him blankets and give him lots of hugs and cuddles, like he always cuddles us, and when he passes away he’s going to always be remembered in our hearts, just like grandpa and _bisabuela_ and _bisabuelo_ , and he’ll be in the afterlife with them, running around like the goofball he is, playing fetch and chasing birds, and watching out for his favorite little humans.” At this, Alex reaches out to gently boop Ana on the nose, making her giggle and wipe at her tears. 

“Have you got any questions?” Henry asks. 

“Can I help take care of David? Help make him comfy and happy?” Ana quietly asks, clearly devastated beyond all words that she’s about to loose her best friend,

“Of course you can love.” Henry assures her. 

“Can we take pictures with David, proper ones? Maybe Claudia will take some for us?” Charlotte hopefully asks, knowing that Amy’s wife Claudia is a professional photographer. 

“That’s a really nice idea Lottie, I’ll call Claudia and see if she can.” Alex says. Claudia has taken all their family photos, she was at Charlotte and Ana’s birth so she could take photos, and did their newborn photos too, she couldn’t be there when Arthur was born because Sierra was so high-risk and therefore not in the midwife led unit of the hospital where the girls were born, but Claudia did also do Arthur’s newborn photos and they are just as perfect and beautiful as his sisters'. 

When Alex contacts Claudia and explains the situation she not only offers to come around on her day off, but to also do the photos for free, Alex and Henry try and insist on paying her but she continuously refuses, in the end they agree that Alex and Henry will donate the cost of a photo-shoot plus editing and service charge, to The Trevor Project, an organisation close to Claudia’s heart, as a proud pansexual woman married to an amazing lesbian transgender woman. 

After the photo shoot, Alex decides to head into town and do the shopping for the next two weeks or so, so they can all be at home with David on his last days, he and Henry can work from home and the kids are off school for the Summer.

“Papa.” Alex hears a familiar little voice from behind him, as he gathers up the shopping bags and car keys. He turns to see Ana standing there, her hair brushed and neatly braided and her shoes on for once. 

“Hi baby, you wanna come for a drive and help me with the shopping?” He asks. Ana nods eagerly. 

“Gotsts my money the toof fairy gave me, I wanna use it to buy David a treat to make him happy.” Ana tells him, holding up an old wallet of his that she uses to keep her tooth fairy money in.

“That’s so sweet _mija_ , and such a lovely idea. I’m sure we can find him something nice at the store, lets go.” 

Sophie spends the whole time in Costco looking for something David would like, but can’t find anything she deems suitable. 

Once they’ve finished shopping and loaded everything into the car, Alex takes a second to breathe, and look around. As he does, he notices a charity shop across the road, he could find some nice things for his niece or nephew in there, seeing as June just loves thrift shopping and no doubt will have the baby decked in thrift store clothes the minute they’re born. 

“Whaddy’a say we go take a look in there for some presents for _Tía_ June’s baby, huh?” Alex softly asks Ana, pointing the shop out. Ana nods. 

“Can we buy a book for daddy, too?” She hopefully asks, remembering hearing Henry say he needs to either go to the library or order some new books soon. Alex smiles at her thoughtful nature. 

“Of course we can baby girl.”

About ten minutes into their browsing in the thrift store, Ana spots something that makes her face light up. 

“Papa look!” Ana exclaims, tugging at Alex’s hand and pointing out a pristine looking red wagon. “Can we buy it papa, please? David can sit in it and I can pull him around outside, so he can still have fun outside without having to walk lots and get tired!” 

Alex walks over to the wagon, with Ana in tow and takes a look at the price tag. $40. Not bad, considering it’s in perfect condition and looks like it was hardly ever used, he knows these things cost a fortune first hand, Philip and Martha have one for their kids and it cost almost £100. He and Henry are not frivolous with their money and don’t just buy random crap, but Alex knows this will actually make David’s last days happier and more comfortable, and the kids will get use out of it even after David passes, and when the kids grow out of it if it’s still in good condition, he and Henry can pass it on again.

“Only if you promise to give me a ride in it.” Alex teases, smoothing Ana’s hair down and making her giggle and lean into his side.

They leave the store with a small bag of baby clothes, the wagon, 2 books for Henry and a box of books for the kids at the shelter, all in perfect condition of course. 

Once home, Ana decides they should re-decorate the wagon, so after setting out an old sheet and dressing the kids in old clothes, Henry and Alex give them some paintbrushes, paint and stencils and let them get to work on it. In the end it turns out surprisingly well, a little messy but absolutely wonderful for something done by an 8 year old, a 5 year old and a 2 year old. They’ve painted over the red with purple and using a mixture of free-hand and stencils, have painted flowers, trees, blue skies and sunshine. 

Once it’s dried, they add some old blankets and pillows to the inside to make it comfortable for David. Then Henry lifts David into the wagon, and together the 5 of them take David for one of his last ever walks. 

A week and a 4 days later, it’s clear David is reaching the end. He doesn’t want to do much but sleep and lay in his bed or on the sofa, he barley eats or drinks and hardly lifts his head anymore when someone walks past. 

One morning, Alex has to wake up early for a video call with a client. He slips out of bed leaving Henry sound asleep with Arthur curled up one side and Charlotte on the other, no sign of Ana. 

Before getting dressed, Alex quietly makes his way downstairs for his morning cup of coffee. When he steps into the kitchen and flicks on the light, he stops by David’s bed to check on the old guy and say good morning, however this morning it’s not just David curled up in his bed. With her head nestled into David’s chest, her arms around his back, her tiny body curled up with a blanket hanging off her, is Ana. She lifts her head a little when the light switches on, blinking at the sudden brightness. 

“Hey baby girl, what are you doing down here?” Alex softly asks, crouching down and running a hand over her thick dark hair. 

“Don’t want David to be lonely papa, and he’s too sore to come upstairs to my room, so I’m gonna sleep down here with him.” Ana informs him, giving him a look that dares him to argue with her.

“That’s okay _mija,_ it’s very sweet of you to want to keep David company, but sleeping in his bed is probably not very comfortable for either of you. How about tonight we move David’s bed into the living room, and we take your duvet and pillows down and you can sleep on the sofa?” Alex suggests, that way the two of them can still be close, but Ana won’t end up with back problems at 5 from sleeping in a dog’s bed. God he hopes no one finds out that his kid slept in the dog's bed, that would be manipulated and twisted for clickbait and likely earn them a visit from CPS.

“Okay, but can I stay here for a little while longer, please papa?” Ana pleads, pouting and batting her eyelashes at Alex. He groans and passes a hand over his face. 

“You, Anastasia, are too damn cute for your own good, of course you can stay there for another while, I’ll come check on your before I have to start work for a few hours, okay?” Ana nods and lays her head back down. Alex pulls the blanket back up around her, tucking it in so she’ll stay nice and warm, before leaning in to kiss her forehead. 

Just two days later, David peacefully passes away in his asleep, laying comfortably in Henry’s lap with Ana curled up beside him, Alex beside Henry, Charlotte on Henry’s other side, leaning in to him and Arthur in Alex’s lap.

No one has to be told, they all sense the change in the room and the lack of the sound of David’s breath. Ana curls up into Henry and sobs her little heart out, while Charlotte slips out from under Henry’s arm and climbs into Alex’s lap beside Arthur, and simply curls into Alex like she would do as a baby, clinging to him for comfort. 

Later that day once the kids have calmed down a bit and feel ready, they have a little funeral for David in the backyard where he’ll be buried. Ana asks Alex to say a prayer for David, since Alex is still Catholic whereas Henry now identifies more as agnostic. 

“David’s happy now right papa, daddy?” Charlotte asks, as the five of them head back inside after saying their final goodbyes. 

“Yes love, he is, he’s not in pain or sick anymore.” Henry assures her. 

“He’s in the afterlife somewhere happy with your grandpa and your _bisabuelo_ and _bisabuela,_ and looking out for you 3.” Alex adds, picking Arthur up and turning him around when he tries to run after a bird.

That night, when they finally manage to get all 3 kids to bed and asleep, Alex and Henry sit down together on the sofa, finally taking some time to process their own emotions and grief. 

“That was an absolutely awful day.” Henry sighs, rubbing his hands over his face, trying to clear way the bleary feeling as well as trying to ground himself and stop himself from dissociating from the situation.

“I know, I’ve never seen poor Ana so devastated before.” Alex says, linking a hand through with Henry’s. 

“She wasn’t even this upset when Gran died last year, isn’t it awful that the family dog showed Ana more love and affection than her own great-grandmother ever did?” Henry asks in a sullen tone. Queen Mary did not consider Henry’s children her great-grandchildren, she constantly told Bea she needed to have kids because there needs to be more than 2 heirs and Philip and Martha don’t plan on having another, completely ignoring the fact that A. Henry and Alex have 3 beautiful children who are all heirs whether she likes it or not, and B. Beatrice is aromantic and wants to remain child-free. 

“Hey don’t get worked up over it H, it’s not your fault. 

Even after every nasty and spiteful thing that woman said to you, you still gave her the option of being involved with our 3 kids, and she didn’t take that chance, it’s her fault not yours. I promise you, Ana nor either of the other 2 have missed out on anything by not having your Gran in their lives, they’ve got 3 awesome grandparents in my folks and your mom, countless amazing Aunts and Uncles and family friends who adore them. 

The only one who didn’t know my _abuelo_ was Arthur, since _abuelo_ passed when Sierra was pregnant, they all knew my _abuela_ though and were absolutely adored by her, they have everything they need Hen, I promise.” 

Henry sighs and leans into Alex, knowing that he’s right, they’ve made sure their kids have all the love and support they need, Charlotte was recently diagnosed with ADD and is getting all the help she needs for that, both in her day to day life and in her academic life, Ana got diagnosed with dyslexia almost the second she started school last year, and she gets all the extra help and assistance she needs for that, and little Arthur, their sweet boy, who is blind in one eye and completely deaf, they worry about him the most but just like with Charlotte and Ana, he is getting all the help and assistance he needs and has ongoing healthcare with the best pediatrician in DC, due to some other issues Henry and Alex have noticed in him, such as any cuts or scratches he gets taking a very long time to heal, and then leaving an odd shaped scar. 

“I love you.” Henry quietly says, laying his head on Alex’s shoulder. Alex puts his arm around Henry and kisses his head. 

“Love you too.”

At some point that night, Henry is awoken by a quiet and familiar voice calling for him. 

“Daddy!” The little voice comes again, this time accompanied by a poke to the back. Henry rolls over and sees Ana standing by his side of the bed, her hair rumpled, one of the legs on her pajama bottoms halfway up her leg, and in her hands she’s clutching one of her many, many stuffed animals, tonight it’s a beagle dog that she’s had since she was born.

“Hi love, you okay?” Henry quietly asks, not wanting to wake or disturb Alex. 

“Daddy can I sleep beside you and papa, please? I’m really sad and lonely without David.” Ana quietly asks, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout, absolutely shattering Henry’s heart. She hasn’t slept without David beside her since she was only a couple of days old, even when they would go to England to see Henry’s family, or Nora, Pez and June or Ellen and Leo or even Oscar would watch the kids for Henry and Alex overnight, Ana refused to go anywhere without David. 

“Oh baby, of course you can.” Henry softly says, moving closer to Alex to make room for Ana, she may be small but she likes to spread out when she sleeps, Henry knows he’s probably going to wake up with her foot in his face, but he doesn’t mind, if she needs to be with he and Alex tonight then that’s all that matters. 

Ana scrambles onto the bed and curls up right into Henry, as he puts the blanket back over them both. 

“Daddy I miss David.” Ana quietly says in a breathy tone. Hearing her hurt makes Henry want to cry. 

“I know sweetheart.” Henry softly says, brushing her hair back and kissing her forehead. “I do too, it’s okay to be upset or angry or anything else you feel about this, David was your best friend and you’ve only spent two whole days of your life without him, when you were in the hospital after you were born. Have a good cry if you need to, or if you’re angry and need to get it all out we can figure out a way for you to healthily and safely do that.”

“Just want to stay with you and papa tonight.” Ana tells him. 

“Okay love.”

“Daddy.” Ana quietly begins. “Can we gets nother doggy, in a few months? Not cause I wanna replace David, couldn’t do that daddy, hims too special! But... I really like having a pet, makes me happy and makes me feel good.” 

“Of course we can darling, whenever you and your siblings feel ready, the five of us will go to the shelter and find another dog- or cat if you like- who needs a good loving home, and if we’re the right fit and the animal feels happy and safe with us, then we can adopt them.” Henry gently explains, quiet liking the idea of having another pet, too. As Ana said nobody could ever replace David, but after having a dog for the past 15 years, Henry can’t imagine not having a pet. 

“Can we getst a lizard?!” Ana hopefully asks, her eyes lighting up. “Or or or a-a-a snake!” Henry has to laugh, glad to see her happy again. He pulls her close and kisses her cheek. 

“You know right well that your brother is terrified of lizards, and we are most definitely _not_ getting a snake.”

Ana spends the next hour or so asking Henry if they can get a bird, or a rat, or a mouse. Then she goes on to ask for a fish, or a hamster or a gerbil. Then she moves on to ridiculous requests just to exasperate Henry, she knows full well they can’t have a bloody lion as a pet, but she just loves to see the shock on Henry’s face each time. Henry is just glad she’s finally smiling. 

Over the years as the kids grow up, the family foster and adopt a fair few dogs and cats, though not as many as Ana would like, seeing as when she and her siblings hit their teen years, Henry and Alex begin fostering (human children this time.) and don’t want to take in too many animals and overwhelm the kids, though a few of them end up bonding really well with some of the dogs.

One child in particular, a non-binary 16 year-old named Toni with chronic depression, anxiety and trauma, bonds instantly with one of their foster dogs, a big golden retriever named Prince. Their bond is so strong and Prince really helps Toni with their panic attacks and dissociation, as well as giving them a reason to get up everyday, Henry and Alex decide to put Prince through training to become a Service Dog, so Toni can take him to college, work, etc. 

Ana helps tremendously with this, as she does all their other foster animals, she is 18 when Toni comes into the family (Toni stays with Henry and Alex until they are 22, having found their forever home with the Claremont-Diaz-Windsor’s.) and is always up to help Toni give Prince a bath (he’s a pretty big dog) and feed him when Toni isn’t home to do so, and going on walks with her sibling and dog. 

At age 18, Ana graduates top of her class in High-School and immediately goes on to study veterinary medicine at Washington State University, having decided on this career when she was only 15. David’s death impacted her greatly and from then on she always had a passion for helping sick animals, she loved helping the stable hands at Kensington and Buckingham, she never wanted to ride the horses but loved grooming them, feeding them, etc. As she got older it wasn’t uncommon to see the youngest Princess kitted out in a hoodie, rain-coat and jodhpurs and boots, grooming horses, bringing them pales of water and hay, cleaning their hooves, mucking out their stables, etc. 

Eventually, after 8 long, long years of training, Ana finally becomes a fully qualified vet and quickly becomes a well liked and well sought-out vet, who also fosters and adopts all sorts of animals, her apartment is like a zoo, and she loves it. 

At the very young age of 30, Ana uses her Royal Funds to open her own animal shelter with an attached veterinary clinic that is totally free, it is through donations and her Royal Funds that Ana is able to keep the place open, order supplies, pay her staff, etc. 

Ana’s shelter has a strict vetting process for all potential owners, and is a no kill shelter, she is not against putting animals down but only when they are clearly suffering and have no chance of survival, like her poor David all those years ago.

Everyone in her family is so, so very proud of her, especially Henry and Alex, with Henry insisting on donating all the royalties from his next book, to the shelter and clinic, and Alex donating a huge chunk of money too.

The weekend before the clinic opens, Ana visits her parents at home, to have lunch and catch up with them.

“What are you making pops?” Ana curiously asks Alex, half an hour after arriving, smelling something good. 

“ _Chiles en nogada_ , it’s what your _abuelo_ would always make when your _Tía_ June and I would have dinner with him, he always made it for you Lottie and Arthur too.” Alex tells her, turning the stove down and turning to face his daughter. 

“I remember, it was one of my favorite parts about staying with _abuelo_ , he would always make _Chiles en nogada_. Do you think dad can handle it tho, pops? It’s not exactly White People food is it?” Ana teases, sharing a smile with her papa. 

“Oi young madam!” Henry protests with a laugh. “You think you got your taste palate from your papa? You have good taste in food because you’re sensible like Sierra, and probably because she practically lived on chilies when she was pregnant with you.” 

“We were expecting you to come out with this big mop of hair because of all the heartburn she had, you were almost totally bald, wouldn’t you know it the chilies were giving her heartburn.” Alex laughs, remembering Sierra’s complaints about her heartburn and her telling Henry she blames him since he’s the baby’s bio dad. 

They laugh and talk about Ana’s childhood and Sierra’s pregnancy with her, for another half hour or so, before Henry remembers something he wanted to ask his daughter. 

“Oh yes I meant to ask you!” Henry says as Ana helps Alex dish out the food. “Are you going to tell us the name of your shelter and clinic, or is that just going to be a big secret till it’s opening?” Henry asks. An grins slyly. 

“Well it is technically meant to be a surprise, but I guess I could tell you guys.” She says. She turns to look at her dad and her smile becomes soft. “I’m calling it the Duke of Edinburgh shelter and veterinary clinic, after grandpa.” 


	3. Arthur Oscar Leo Philip Claremont-Diaz-Windsor, Part 1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 years after welcoming their youngest daughter, Ana, to the family, Henry and Alex decide to add to their family again but are totally unprepared for the whirlwind nightmare of a pregnancy, that Sierra (their surrogate) faces, as well as the fact that their son is born blind in one eye, and totally deaf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends!   
> So I just want to quickly let you know that I'm going to be doing 2 parts for Arthur's part of this story, since I have so much material to work with and his story is far too long for just one chapter.  
> So this is part 1 which will focus on Sierra's pregnancy and birth with Arthur, as well his early days of life. Then part 2 will focus on his teenage and adult years, how he manages life with two disabilities, what kind of person he becomes and the career path he takes. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy and thank you for your love and support! 
> 
> Parts of this story were inspired by great_turkey_calamity's story Long Flights & Longer Nights, which you most definitely should check out! 
> 
> I also want to add some TW/CWs here.
> 
> **TW/CW**  
> Ectopic pregnancy.  
> Pregnancy Loss.  
> Surgery.  
> Pregnancy complications.  
> Mention of drugs and drug withdrawals.   
> Mention of Eating Disorders.

It is a cold Winter’s day in 2027 when Henry and Alex decide to add to their family once again.

It has been 3 years since they welcomed their youngest daughter, Ana into the family, and once again Henry and Alex are feeling that desire to add to the family. The past 5 years have been some of the best of their lives and they can think of nothing better than adding another baby to their family.

It’s Henry who brings up the subject of having another baby, first.

it is a cold and rainy winters day and Alex has only been home from work for an hour, while Henry is still finishing up some paperwork for his next novel, with Shaan. While they work in Henry’s study away from the chaos of a hyper toddler, an excited 5 year old and an energetic dog who loves his mini-humans, Alex stays with the girls in the living room, watching with a fond smile as Ana sits watching her sister with intrigue, as Charlotte demonstrates the writing skills she learned at school.

“Look papa!” Charlotte exclaims, holding up a piece of paper where she has made a very good attempt at spelling her nickname ‘Lottie' out. (Alex feels a little guilty now at having given both her and her sister so many long names, its’ going to be quiet a task to learn to write them and spell them all.) 

“Good job _mjia,_ that’s really good!” Alex replies enthusiastically, holding a hand out for a high-five as Charlotte runs across the room to him, to show him her writing up close. 

“I’m gonna be a writer like daddy when I grow up!” Charlotte tells him, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. This doesn’t really surprise Alex at all, Charlotte has always loved books and stories, as a baby she loved to sit in Henry’s lap and watch him type away on the laptop as he worked on his next novel, and ever since she could hold a pencil she has just loved writing. 

“Really? That’s awesome, you’re gonna be so good at that!” Alex enthuses, picking Ana up and settling her on his lap, when she runs to him with her arms outstretched. “What about you Anna, what do you wanna be when you grow up?” He asks, smiling down at her.

“Play music, like Aunty Bea!” Anna enthusiastically tells him. Again this doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Ana has always loved music, as a baby she would always settle and calm down when Alex sang to her or when Henry played the piano for her, and to this day she will sit and listen to Bea play guitar or violin, for hours on end, totally mesmerized by it all.

“You’re going to be our little musician then, are you?” They suddenly hear Henry’s warm and happy voice from the doorway. 

“Daddy!” Charlotte squeals, darting across the room to throw herself at Henry, who easily catches her up in a hug. 

Ana wriggles to be set down and toddles her way across the room to Henry, grinning up at him around her pacifier and reaching up for him to pick her up.

“Hello my little loves.” Henry softly says, bending to scoop Ana up onto his free hip, having masted the art of holding two children at once. 

“You finished for the day?” Alex asks, getting up to join Henry and the kids, giving his husband a kiss on the lips.

“Yes all caught up thankfully, Shaan didn’t have time to come say goodbye to you and the girls, he’s got to pick Ellie and Max up from his parents house, on his way home.” Henry explains, smiling as he thinks of Shaan and Zahra’s adorable 4 year old daughter Ellie and their 2 month old baby boy, Max. 

“Daddy look!” Charlotte exclaims before Alex can reply, shoving her paper in Henry’s face. “I gonna be a writer like you when I grow up!” She explains. 

“Are you now? Well that’s wonderful my darling, I can’t wait to read whatever you write! In fact, why don’t you go practice your handwriting some more, show Ana how you do it, while papa and I make dinner okay?” Henry asks, looking between his daughters. They both nod, and he sets them down. 

“They’re so cute it hurts.” Alex sighs, wrapping his arms around Henry’ waist from behind, as the girls run off together. Henry hums in agreement and leans back into Alex’s touch. 

“We should have another one.” He quietly says. He and Alex have already spoken about this since Ana’s birth, agreeing that they’d like approximately 2 years between each kid. Seeing his girls face’s light up in delight when they saw him come into the room, gives Henry a delight like no other and he would love for a third little face to join his welcoming committee everyday when he finishes work. 

“But we just got Ana to sleep through the night, I like sleeping more than 3 hours at a time Hen, sleep is glorious even if it is with Lottie’s sharp little elbows digging into my ribs and Ana asleep across my chest.” Alex sighs. Henry chuckles and moves so that he's standing in front of Alex now, cupping his cheek.

“Yes but remember the cuddles and the joy of hearing those first words and seeing them take their first step and so much more.” He reminds him, which does make Alex’s heart ache for another baby. He knows he can’t deny that he would love to have a third, even if it means giving up sleep again it’s going to be more than worth it.

“I still can’t believe Lottie took her first step for Pez and Ana took her first step to David, we were right there but they totally ignored us!” Alex pouts, remembering the shock of seeing his daughters walking to their _Tío_ Pez, and David, individually, after he and Henry had been trying to get them to walk for weeks. 

“There’s one more reason to have another baby, this one might walk to us first!” Henry points out. Alex groans and lays his head on Henry’s shoulder. 

“You know I’m gonna choose having another kid over a regular sleeping routine, of course we should have another, we should have like 20 more.” Henry laughs. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself there love, didn’t we agree 4 is plenty for the meantime, and when they’re all a bit older we’re going to foster?” He asks. Alex sighs. 

“Yeah I know I just love being a dad so much I want to do it as many times as possible.”

They agree to approach the subject with Sierra next time they see her, as obviously this decision can’t be made without her if she’s going to be their donor and surrogate again, like she offered.

They don’t see her again until a week later, and almost entirely forget to bring up the topic of adding to their family again, because they are so busy catching up with her.

“Oh by the way, I found some of my old baby pictures that I thought the girls might like to have, although they don’t look much like me at all, they’re all you in looks Henry, and you in personality Alex.” Sierra tells them after they’ve caught up. Charlotte and Ana are fully aware of how they were born and that Sierra is the one who donated her eggs in order for the girls to be conceived, and the one who carried and gave birth to them.

“Oh please, where do you think they both get their sweet tooth from?” Alex laughs. One of Charlotte’s first solid foods when she was younger, was a jafa cake and she of course immediately loved it and now seems to be addicted to them just like Henry. 

“Actually speaking of the kids.” Henry says, slipping his hand into Alex’s. “We’ve decided we want to have a third baby, and soon.” Sierra’s face lights up. 

“Oh that’s awesome! You still want me to be your donor and surrogate again, right?” She asks, not wanting to assume. 

“We would love and appreciate it but of course there’s no pressure at all, we will fully understand if you don’t want to.” Henry assures her, not wanting her to think he only sees her as somebody to pop out his kids and then let he and Alex raise them, he loves and cherishes Sierra and her friendship and everything she does for him outside of being he and Alex’s surrogate and donor. 

“Oh no I’m all in, like I said I’m cool to go up to 5 pregnancies. Actually, I was thinking, since IVF is so expensive and such a pain in the ass for me with all the hormones and stuff, and we never get great results, why don’t we try IUI? I had no problem actually carrying a pregnancy, and there was seemingly no reason for our embryo count to be so low, just bad luck probably. If IUI doesn’t work we can always go back to IVF.” Sierra suggests, hoping that she can do a less intense course of hormones if they’re going to do IUI.

“Makes sense, I don’t see why not.” Alex agrees. 

“It’s worth a shot.” Henry agrees, wanting to make the experience as simple and smooth for Sierra as possible, all _he_ has to do is come in a cup, it's very simple for him either way.

So they carry out the necessary legal and paperwork, set up an appointment at the fertility clinic they used to conceive Charlotte and Ana, and get the process started.

Before they know it, it’s all over and done with and the week long waiting game begins.

When Sierra’s pregnancy test comes back positive all 3 of them are overjoyed and assume this is the start of another smooth, healthy and happy pregnancy. But they could not be further from the truth.

For the first few weeks everything is fine and normal, until one day when Sierra is about 10 weeks along, when Alex receives a phone call that will change everything forever.

“Hello?” He answers, having just caught the phone on time before it stopped ringing,

“Alex.” Sierra’s voice comes down the line, weak and shaky which instantly strikes fear into him.

“Sierra hey, are you okay?” He wearily asks.

“I think something’s seriously wrong with the pregnancy, for the past few days I’ve been having this awful pain low in my stomach, an upset stomach, shoulder pain that won’t go away no matter what and just today I started feeling really light headed and faint. I... I think the pregnancy is ectopic.” Alex’s heart immediately sinks and he himself starts to feel sick. This is worse than a ‘normal’ miscarriage, if this an ectopic pregnancy it could seriously hurt or kill Sierra. 

“Fuck.” Alex swears. “You need to go to hospital right?” He asks. 

“Yeah.” Sierra says in a breathy tone. “Like right now because the pain is just getting worse and I’m scared I’m gonna pass out.” 

“Shit okay, shit, Henry and I are coming to take you to hospital obviously, but is anyone with you, in case you do pass out?” Alex frantically asks, trying to figure out what they’re going to do with the kids while they take Sierra to hospital, they can’t let the girls see their _Tía_ like that but if they stop to drop them off with someone or wait for someone to get here to watch them, the more at danger Sierra is. 

“One of my friends is with me.” Sierra tells him, her tone sounding pained.

“Okay we’ll be there as soon as we can, call me if you need anything at all or if anything changes.” Alex says, already making his way down to Henry’s office, where he’s working on the final draft of his next novel. 

“I will, thanks.” Sierra assures him, before hanging up. Alex sighs and shoves the phone back in his pocket before knocking on the door to Henry’s office. 

“Come in!” Henry calls. Alex pushes the door open, to see Henry sitting behind his desk frowning at his laptop screen, while Shaan sits across from him, skimming through Henry’s new contract with his publishers. 

“Hi love.” Henry cheerful greets his husband, his face lighting up when he sees him. Alex gives him a weak smile back.

“I’m not being rude it’s just if I talk I’ll loose my place in this bloody monster of a contract.” Shaan says, never once looking up from the papers in front of him. He would take it home to work on but Ellie has a habit of finding her parents important documents (no matter how well hidden) and coloring them in. Her art work is fantastic and Shaan adores the pieces she makes for him, but he does wish she would use different canvases than the itinerary's he spends all day writing up, or Zahra’s plan for easing back into work after Max’s birth. 

“Everything okay darling?” Henry asks in a tone of concern, noticing the worried look on his husband’s face. Alex sighs and shakes his head. 

“I just got a call from Sierra, it’s... it’s not good, Hen. She’s cramping and feeling sick and light headed and faint.” Alex begins, passing his hand over his face. Henry pales. 

“She think she’s having a miscarriage?” He asks. 

“Not exactly, she thinks it’s an ectopic pregnancy and has no one to take her to the hospital, she’s got a friend with her but they can’t drive. I told her we’d be there as soon as possible but I don’t know what to do about the kids, we can’t take them with us and we don’t have time to wait for someone to get here to watch them.” Alex explains.

“I’ll stay with them.” Shaan tells them, lifting a weight from both Henry and Alex. They were both beginning to think one of them would have to stay here with the girls and the other would go take Sierra to the hospital. 

“Really? Do you mind?” Henry hopefully asks, knowing Shaan must be eager to get back home to his own family. 

“Of course I don’t mind, you two have looked after Ellie and Max in emergency situations for Zahra and I countless times, I’m happy to return the favor. Just keep me updated, if you’re going to be at the hospital for a long time I can take the girls home with me, they can stay the night if need be, Zahra won’t mind at all and Ellie will be delighted to have someone her age to play with, she’s rather bored of Max now.” Shaan assures them.

“Thank you, thank you so much it means so much, I’ll make sure you get a bonus for this with your next paycheck.” Henry promises him, grabbing his phone and standing up. Shaan shakes his head, Henry is too nice, 

“No don’t be ridiculous, I’m not their babysitter I’m their uncle, and Charlotte’s Godfather, I’m doing this because you’re family not because of any potential money.

Don’t worry about the girls, I’ll explain everything to them, just go get Sierra to the hospital before something terrible happens.”

_______________________________________________________________

20 minutes later Henry and Alex find themselves standing in an ultrasound suite at the hospital, on either side of the exam bed where Sierra is lying with her top pushed up, as the doctor moves the ultrasound wand around her stomach.

Luckily Sierra’s friend had the sense to call the ER and let them know that Sierra was coming in with symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, so they were able to have an ultrasound ready to go when she got here.

The three of them are silent as the doctor moves the ultrasound wand around Sierra’s stomach and studies the screen closely.

After a few minutes of looking at the screen without giving anything away by the look on her face, she sets the ultrasound wand down and turns to look at the three of them.

“Well?” Alex asks in an impatient tone.

“This is going to likely come as a big shock to you, it even shocked me. What you are experiencing Miss Garcia is something we call heterotopic pregnancy, which means that two embryos implanted, however one did not implant in the right spot. There is one embryo where it should be in the uterus, and one in the left Fallopian tube.

As I’m sure you know this is extremely dangerous and we need to take you into surgery right away to have it removed before it can rupture and cause any serious damage.”

All 3 of them are shocked into silence, having never heard of this condition before, not knowing it was even possible. They feel terrified, confused and devastated.

“I... will the other baby survive? The one in the right place?” Alex asks after a few seconds. 

“The survival rate for the second embryo is 70%, but of course I cannot promise anything either way, our main priority is removing the ectopic pregnancy.” The doctor explains. 

Within minutes Sierra is rushed to theater for emergency surgery, while Henry and Alex have no choice but to wait in the waiting room, not knowing if A. One of their best friends is going to be alright and B. If their other baby is going to be okay. They didn’t even know about the second baby until now but it still feels like such a horrific and immense loss.

While Sierra is in surgery, Henry texts Shaan to let him know what’s going on and Shaan tells him that he and Zahra will take the kids for tonight at least, so they can be with Sierra and also process everything without being constantly distracted by two young kids. Henry is beyond grateful to have Shaan, he couldn’t cope without him.

Finally, 2 hours after Sierra is brought in for surgery, a nurse approaches Henry and Alex in the waiting room.

“Is it over, is Sierra okay, is the baby okay?” Alex frantically asks, when he spots the nurse. She smiles softly. 

“Yes, yes and yes, though things became complicated, just as we were starting the surgery Miss Garcia’s left Fallopian tube where the ectopic pregnancy was growing, ruptured. We were able to save her and the embryo in the uterus but unfortunately we had to remove the Fallopian tube.” The nurse calmly explains. 

“Oh Christ.” Henry’s voice breaks as he sinks down into the chair behind him, burying his face in his hands and feeling more guilty than he ever has before in all his life. It’s his fault, he was the one who first suggested they have another baby, he was the biological father, its probably a fault in his genes that caused the ectopic pregnancy and it’s his fault they took so long to get to Sierra and get to hospital, this is all his fault, and now Sierra will probably hate him, she might not want to let he and Alex raise this baby now, she might decide to keep it and would be well within her rights as she still has legal rights over the baby until 2 days after the birth. 

“Before she went into surgery she asked me to make sure you two are with her when she wakes up, which will likely be soon.” The nurse tells them. Alex looks between her and Henry in concern.

“Can we have a minute, please?” Alex asks, knowing that Henry needs some love and comfort before they go to see Sierra, they both need to be strong for her.

“Of course, just ask for me at reception when you’re ready, I’m Hannah, Hannah Coleman.” The nurse- Hannah- kindly says. 

“Okay, thanks.” Alex replies, as she gives them a warm smile and walks off to give them some privacy. 

Alex immediately sits down next to Henry and puts his arm around his shoulder, pulling his husband close. 

“Hen.” Alex quietly says “It’s not your fault.” Henry sniffles. 

“Of course it is, I’m the biological father, I was the one who brought up the idea of having another baby, I’m the one who wanted our kids to have the same egg donor, and it’s probably some genetic issue on my part that this crazy rare heterotopic pregnancy happened!” Henry exclaims in an angry and frustrated tone. If anyone is going to have fucked up genes it’s him.

“Henry there is nothing to say this was a genetic thing, this doesn’t run in your family, or Sierra’s, it was a really awful freak occurrence and yeah it’s fucking awful, but everything’s okay now, Sierra’s is okay, there’s still one baby that’s okay. And Hen, I agreed that our kids should have the same egg donor and you as the bio dad, and when we mentioned that to Sierra when she was pregnant with Charlotte, she was cool with it too. You know Sierra, she would never have agreed to this pregnancy if she didn’t want to do it, you didn’t force her, this is not your fault.” 

“But everything’s not okay, is it? Sierra’s just had major emergency surgery, she had to have her fucking Fallopian tube removed so that means if she wants to have kids of her own in the future, it’s going to be hard for her, and if this pregnancy hadn’t of happened then Sierra wouldn’t be in this mess right now!” Henry exclaims. Alex, for a brief second, worries that Henry now regrets this third baby, and won’t be able to bond with them and love them, but he soon realizes that Henry doesn’t mean that at all, just that if they hadn’t decided to have a third, none of this would of happened, which is not entirely true.

“Henry this didn’t happen specifically because it’s Sierra’s 3rd pregnancy, it could have happened with either of the previous 2, it could happen again if she has more pregnancies. There’s no reason these things happen, there’s no one to blame, horrific and awful things happen all the time for no reason at all, and we can’t go around blaming ourselves. I know you feel awful and guilty right now H, so do I, but we have to be strong. Sierra needs us, our girls need us, and that little baby that’s not even a baby yet, needs us.” 

Henry is quiet for a few minutes, following this. Then he sniffs and lets out a sigh. 

“You’re right.” He quietly says. “Like you always are, I need to talk to my therapist about this next time I see her, but for now I-I need to focus on you and Sierra and our kids, my family.” 

After Henry takes a few more minutes to completely calm down, he and Alex go to reception and ask for Hannah, who leads them to Sierra’s private recovery room. 

“Like I said in the waiting room, she should be coming around from the anesthetic now any minute, our anesthetist Dr. Hanson will be coming around to check on Miss Garcia, soon, but if there’s any problems before that just press the buzzer beside the bed and someone will be round to help.” Hannah explains, once they have reached Sierra’s room, where she appears to be sleeping comfortably and peacefully. 

They thank Hannah and make their way over to Sierra’s bedside, taking a seat on either side of the bed.

They sit in silence, Henry lost in his thoughts and Alex quietly praying, reciting the prayers his dad told him he said for he and his mom, before he was born and Ellen went through a lot of complications. 

About 20 minutes later, Sierra starts to stir. 

“Oh my god.” she groans, slowly bringing her hands up to cover her face. 

“Sierra, are you okay?” Henry asks in a concerned tone. She nods slowly, breathing deeply. 

“Nauseous, hella nauseous.” She weakly says. Then she groans again. “I think I’m going to be sick.” Mercifully a basin has been placed by the bed for this very reason, and Alex is able to quickly grab it and get it under Sierra’s face before she starts to vomit violently, trying desperately to hold her hair back. 

Henry leans forward and gathers Sierra’s hair back, holding it back from her face, remembering the hours he would spend with Bea, on her bathroom floor, holding her hair back as she was sick from cocaine withdrawals. 

About a minute later it seems to stop, leaving Sierra sweating and breathing heavily. 

“You okay?” Alex asks with a grimace, holding the basin at arms length as he sets it down on the medical trolley, quickly throwing a napkin over it. 

“Uh-hu.” Sierra weakly says, accepting a napkin from Henry and wiping her mouth. “I don’t know if that was from the anesthetic or the pregnancy.”

“I would guess it’s from Henry’s awful aftershave.” Alex teases, earning an eye roll from his husband. 

“Ellie bought it for me for my birthday, I have to wear it, she’s my Goddaughter.” Henry defends himself. Well, technically she’s his Guide-daughter, since she wasn’t baptized, but it’s essentially the same thing and Shaan and Zahra don’t care what people call it, as long as they know that Ellie has a pretty awesome guide in Henry. 

“Well I think it’s lovely, this _idiota_ over here doesn’t know he’s talking about.” Sierra laughs weakly, throwing a wink at Alex who pretends to be very hurt by this comment. 

“It’s good to see you smile. I... I can’t tell you how sorry I am, for what you just went through and I want to say here and now that if you ever want to have kids of your own, and you need fertility treatment because you’ve only got one Fallopian tube now, I’ll pay for it.” Henry tells Sierra in a sure tone, catching her off guard. 

“What? Henry no don’t be silly you don’t need to be sorry! This wasn’t your fault, or mine, or anyone's, it was just shitty luck. And no you most certainly will not, you want to know how you can repay me?” Henry eagerly nods. “You can stop blaming yourself, you can give this little baby an amazing and loving home just as you have for Charlotte and Ana, and you can go get me some food and a Diet Coke because my cravings are insane right now.” Sierra rubs her hands across her belly. 

“Deal.” Henry says in a breathy tone of relief. “Anything in particular you’re craving?” 

“Hmm, oh! Pretzels with hot sauce, that sounds amazing!” Sierra exclaims, making Henry wrinkle his nose up in distaste while Alex laughs. 

“You always have the weirdest pregnancy cravings. It was Jaffa Cakes and butter with Charlotte, Chilies with Ana and now Pretzels and Hot sauce?” Alex laughs. 

Sierra laughs and shrugs 

“Could be worse, I was talking to Martha the other day and she told me that when she was pregnant with Lucie she craved powdered doughnuts and sliced cheese day and night, and made Philip make it for her multiple times in the middle of the night.” Sierra laughs. 

“Oh god she never told me that, ugh I’m going to go get your food and Diet Coke before _I_ vomit.” 

Sierra is kept in hospital for the next few days, mainly for observation. Thankfully she seems to be recovering well from the surgery and the baby doesn’t seem to have been affected in any negative reaction and is growing right on track. 

From that point on for the next 5 months, everything seems to go pretty okay, not as good as when Sierra was pregnant with the girls, but not awful. She suffers from a lot more sickness and nausea this time, as well as general aches and pains and fatigue. 

At Sierra’s 22 week appointment though, they find out that the complications are far from over.

A few minutes after arriving at the appointment and starting off with the ultrasound, Alex notes a concerned look on the doctor’s face. 

“Is everything okay?” He cautiously asks, terrified of receiving more bad news. The doctor turns to him and smiles kindly. 

“Nothing to panic over, I just want to check your fundal height Sierra, just to make sure baby’s measuring as he should be, it can be difficult to see on the ultrasound sometimes, especially when baby’s not an ideal position, which this little one isn’t today.” The doctor calmly explains. 

“Okay.” Sierra agrees. The doctor (Doctor Wilson) takes a tape-measure from her pocket and starts to measure the height of the bump. 

“Okay, Sierra I’d like to weigh you now if you’re comfortable with that, if you want Henry and Alex to step out I’m sure they’ll be happy to.” Doctor Wilson calmly says, looking at Henry and Alex who both nod in agreement. They’ve unfortunately dealt with a few kids at the shelter who suffer with eating disorders, 2 of which are now in remission but of course very sensitive to numbers correlating to weight, calories, etc. 

“No it’s okay, they can stay.” Sierra assures her. 

A few minutes later, Alex once again notices Doctor Wilson frowning, as she checks Sierra’s notes. 

“Why do you keep frowning? Is something wrong?” Alex asks, panic rising in his tone. Dr. Wilson sighs and turns to face them. 

“I’m afraid there _is_ cause for concern.

When I measured baby today I noticed he was rather small for his gestational age, and Sierra you’re measuring more at 19 weeks than 22, and I’ve noticed that baby hasn’t been measuring correctly for a few weeks now, since about 16 weeks he’s been behind. I’ll need to do more tests and monitor you and baby, Sierra, but it seems that baby is going through something we call Intrauterine Growth Restriction, which simply put means baby is rather smaller than he should be for his gestational age.

Please, do not panic, this does not mean any harm will come to baby, a lot of babies who go through IUG are simply smaller when they’re born but perfectly fine otherwise, and we have things we can do.” 

Henry immediately slips his hand into Alex’s and squeezes tightly, and places his free hand on Sierra’s shoulder while Alex holds her hand in his free hand. 

“Like what? What can you do for the baby?” Sierra weakly asks. 

“Well apart from monitoring you both, we can give you steroids to help baby- his lungs specifically- develop faster, we might ask you to keep track of baby’s moves and kicks, and we may need to deliver early, perhaps by Cesarean, but perhaps not.” Dr. Wilson calmly explains. 

“Can... can we have a few minutes, please?” Alex asks in a tight, breathy tone. Dr. Wilson simply nods and steps out,

“Fucking hell.” Henry softly swears, sinking into a seat next to him, covering his face with his hands. “I-I don’t understand how the girls' pregnancies were amazing, low-risk and smooth, while this one is just...” Henry trails off. 

“A nightmare.” Sierra quietly finishes for him. He nods. 

“Exactly, a bloody nightmare, first the heterotopic pregnancy, now this. It’s not fucking fair, especially on you Sierra, having to go through all the physical aspects of it.”

Sierra simply hops down from her seat on the edge of the exam bed, walks over and wraps Henry in a tight embrace. 

“I know, it sucks man, it really fucking sucks but it’s going to be okay. I’m gonna fight tooth and nail for this little guy, I swear on all things Holy that I will bring him into this world safe and healthy, no matter what it takes.

I don’t care if they have to give me all the steroids they’ve got, keep me in hospital the rest of my pregnancy and deliver him by C-section, I’m not giving up hope and neither are you.” She grabs Henry’s hand and lays it across her stomach.

“This baby is a fucking fighter like you, like Alex and like me. I know he is, so just like my other two pregnancies, all 3 of us are going to work through this together, no matter what the 3 of us are going to get this baby here safe and sound.” 

Henry sniffs and wipes at his tears with his free hand, while nodding. 

“Yeah, yeah okay. Thanks Sierra, for being such a brilliant friend, I hope the kids are as kind and loyal as you.” He quietly says. Sierra smiles and squeezes his shoulder. 

“As long as they don’t have your white-ass taste palate I’ll be happy.” 

Over the next few weeks Sierra and baby are constantly monitored, and it’s officially declared and diagnosed that the baby is going through IUGR. Sierra is given steroids to help the baby grow faster, and she is also put on bed rest to increase the flow of blood to the baby. 

Henry and Alex become even more stressed when they close on a house in DC, since their New York apartment is too small for the two of them, a dog, two toddlers and a new baby. They decide to move back to DC, as majority of their family are there and they want to be close to them. 

Among the doom and gloom though, there are some nice moments, like June, Nora and Pez getting engaged. Since they can’t legally be married as a throuple, they never really thought of doing a commitment ceremony or anything, that would in their and their friends and families eyes, make the married. That is until Pez surprised both June and Nora by proposing to them, though not in a manner that one would expect from Pez. According to the story Nora and June tell, it had just been an ordinary Friday night for the 3 of them, they were home together, lying in bed watching the newest trending show on Netflix, when Pez seemingly out of nowhere, asked them both if they want to get married. 

Everyone is thrilled for the 3 of them, Pez has already asked Henry to be his best man, June has asked Alex to be her ‘Man of honor’ and Nora has asked Bea to be her maid of honor. All 3 of them were delighted to be asked and accepted right away. 

In fact, Alex and Henry are helping Nora, Pez and June plan their wedding just under two months later, when they get a phone call from Sierra.

Sierra is now 32 weeks pregnant, so close to the end of her pregnancy, the doctors are thinking of inducing her at 37 weeks, due to the IUGR, but still haven’t decided. Sierra is cool with whatever is best for baby, and Henry and Alex had left the decision of induction in her and the doctor’s hands, it may be their baby but it’s Sierra's body. 

“Question.” Alex begins a new conversation, as he, Henry, Nora and Pez sit together in Henry and Alex’s living room making wedding plans, while Ana is napping and Charlotte is playing happily in her room. “Do I have to go dress shopping with you, June? I still have nightmares from dress shopping with mom when she and Leo were planning their wedding.” Despite having tried on at least hundreds of traditional wedding dresses, in the end Ellen decided to go with a casual knee-length 3 quarter length sleeve deep emerald green dress, with her hair down.

“Nope I don’t need a dress, I’m wearing mom’s.” June replies, sipping from her wine glass and scrolling further through pintrest. 

“Really? Which one?” Alex asks.

“Both, I’m wearing the one from her first wedding, for the ceremony, and the one from her second wedding, at the party afterwards.” June replies. From the moment Pez proposed, she knew she didn’t want to find something new, she wanted to take the stigma away from her parents failed marriage, and ask to wear Ellen’s dresses. Ellen was of course thrilled when June asked, and is honored that she made this choice, Leo and Oscar approve too, the 3 of them just want to see their June happy. 

“Are you wearing your mum’s dress, Nora?” Henry curiously asks. Nora snorts and shakes her head. 

“Have you _seen_ the thing my mom got married in?” 

“No, is it really that bad?” Henry asks. 

“Oh it’s hideous, it’s this... this.... above the knee white strapless dress that’s got white feathers all over it, man I have no idea what she was thinking but I know I’m not getting married in that atrocity, Bea and I are going dress shopping in a couple weeks, but I am going to have 2 dress as well, maybe not a white one for the ceremony though.” Nora explains, tapping her pen against her chin pensively. 

“You should wear a black dress, and a black pointy hat, cause you’re a fucking witch.” Alex casually says with a smirk, never looking up from his phone. 

Nora responds by throwing a cushion at him. 

Before Alex can retaliate, his phone starts to buzz and Sierra’s name and number flash up on screen. Alex quickly answers the phone. 

“Hey Si, _¿Qué pasa?_ “ 

“Alex.” Sierra’s tone is shaky and full of worry, immediately wiping the smile off his face. “I need you to come to the hospital, you and Henry.” This sends Alex’s heart racing, and his anxiety skyrockets. Why is she asking he and Henry to go to the hospital? What could be wrong now? 

“Why? What’s wrong?” Alex asks in an urgent tone, leaning forward and gripping his phone tighter.

“Well you know how I’ve been dizzy and getting headaches lately?” Sierra asks. Alex nods, then realizes how pointless that is. 

“Yeah.” 

“Well the headaches and dizziness got worse today, I went out for lunch with my mom and mentioned it to her and she said I should go get checked at the hospital, because of all the other complications I’ve had, so I did and they ran some tests and... I’ve got pre-eclampisa.”

“Fuck.” Alex swears, anger and frustration now joining his anxiety. Why does this pregnancy have to be so complicated? It was their easiest conception but hardest pregnancy, it took almost a year to conceive Charlotte, half a year to conceive Ana and only one IUI round to conceive this baby, the other two pregnancies had been a breeze, Charlotte had been born in 5 hours in the midwife led unit, with Sierra taking no pain relief. Ana had been born in 3 hours, in the birthing pool in the midwife led unit, again without any pain relief. Why couldn’t this pregnancy be like the other 2? 

“I know, I know it’s fucking awful, can you get here?” Sierra asks in a tight tone, also wondering why this pregnancy has to be so complicated. 

“Yeah of course, be there in about 10 minutes.” 

“Okay, bye.”

“Love you, bye.”

Alex hangs up and lets out a sigh, burying his face in his hands, wanting to scream. 

“Alex.” Henry softly says, laying a hand on his husband’s arm. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” 

“Sierra’s in hospital, she’s been diagnosed with pre-eclampisa.” 

“Fucking hell.” Henry sighs. He just can’t wait anymore for the baby to be born, he doesn’t know how many more horrible things happening to the baby and Sierra, he can take. 

“Do you want us to watch the girls?” Pez offers, clearly able to see the distress his friends are in. 

“Do you mind?” Henry hopefully asks. At least that would be one thing sorted. 

“Course not, they’re sweethearts, my favorite girls in the world, well tied with June and Nora of course.” 

June picks up Alex’s keys from the table beside her and tosses them to her brother. 

“Go, go be with Sierra and find out everything you can, the girls are in perfectly capable hands with us and we can watch them overnight if you need us to, just let us know.”

Henry and Alex thank the 3 of them, before quickly rushing out the door and rushing to the hospital. They should have called Cash and Amy and maybe Shaan too, for security and NDAs from the hospital staff, but that is the last thing on their minds right now.

Finally, 20 minutes later they’re at Sierra’s side, waiting for the doctor to come speak to the three of them. 

Sierra is in the middle of laughing at one of Alex’s jokes, when there is a light knock on the door and Dr. Wilson steps in, smiling warmly at them. 

“Back again huh? I’m either very good at my job, or very bad.” They all laugh. 

“Way better than the asshole of an OB I had with Charlotte, my first pregnancy.” Sierra lightly says, thinking of the doctor she saw for half her first pregnancy, who never listened to her and told her that if she went over 40 weeks, even by a day, she would have to come in to be induced and if that didn’t work within 24 hours she would have to have a C-section, Henry and Alex wouldn’t be allowed in and she wouldn’t get to hold the baby right away. He was the reason she switched to a midwife.

“Some people just shouldn’t be doctors at all, including those who are doctors. Now, we got your test results back and there is still protein in the urine so it’s most definitely pre-eclampisa. 

Normally in a pregnancy that’s been as complicated as yours, when Pre-eclampsia is diagnosed I would want to deliver right away, but you’re only 32 weeks and baby’s been going through IUGR, so it’s not the best choice right now. 

What I think we should do, is keep you in for monitoring and observation, and try and get you as close to full term as possible, I’d like you to get to 34 weeks at the earliest, but if we can get you to 36 that would be awesome, but if you’re pre-eclampsia worsens in anyway, it’s going to be best to deliver as soon as possible, okay?” Dr. Wilson calmly explains. 

“Fine by me, what about you 2?” Sierra asks, looking between Henry and Alex. 

“Whatever's best for you and baby.” Henry says, while Alex nods in agreement. 

“Great, any questions?” Dr. Wilson asks. 

“If I end up needing a C-section, if it’s not an emergency, can both Henry and Alex be with me? I wouldn’t ask if they weren’t the dads, but I think they should both be able to see this baby be born, just like they did their daughters.” Sierra hopefully asks.

“Well normally we do limit to just one, but I’m willing to make an acceptation and I’m sure Dr. Fletcher- our anesthesiologist - will too.” Dr. Wilson assures them. If she can't make an acceptation for the former FSOTUS now the Duke of Sussex, and Prince Henry of Wales, then who can she make an acceptance for? 

Two weeks go by and Sierra’s symptoms only get worse, her blood pressure stays consistently high, she starts feeling fatigued and nauseous and starts to get stomach aches. After a few days of this, Dr. Wilson decides to run some more tests, as well as a physical exam, just to check that it’s nothing more serious than they thought. 

And as luck would have it, it is far more serious than they thought. 

A few hours after sending of Sierra’s blood work and urine test, Dr. Wilson steps into the room, looking very serious and somber. 

“Sierra, Alex, Henry.” She calmly says, closing the door behind her, and addressing the 3 of them by their first names like they requested. “I’m afraid it’s not good news, not at all. From my physical exam and your blood and urine tests, Sierra, I can conclude the you have something known as HELLP Syndrome. 

HELLP is an acronym for Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelet Count. 

Hemolysis refers to a breakdown of red blood cells, and in people with Hemolysis the red blood cells break down too fast which can lead to anemia. 

Elevated Liver Enzymes indicate that your liver isn’t functioning properly. Inflamed or damaged liver cells leak high amounts of certain chemicals, including enzymes, into your blood, which isn’t good. 

And Platelets are components of your blood that help with clotting, and when platelet levels are low you are at increased risk of excessive bleeding. 

All in all this is a very dangerous disorder and we have to get baby out now, to halt the progression. 

I know this is a shock and very scary, but we need to get baby out. I’m going to go get the pitocin to induce labor, and while we wait for that to work you can ask me any questions at all, okay?” 

“O-okay.” Sierra stammers, trying to wrap her mind around everything the doctor just told her. 

“I... I gotta call my dad and see if he can watch the kids, they’re with my mom and Leo now but they’re going out of town for work soon.” Alex explains in a horse voice. 

“Yeah, I gotta call my mom too, I want her here, in the waiting room like she was when the girls were born.” Sierra quietly says. She’s always had a strong bond and close relationship with her mom, she helped her a lot with her previous two pregnancies (as did Ellen and Catherine, Martha too.) even just knowing her mom is in the building will put Sierra a little more at ease. 

“I have to call my family too, mum, Bea, Philip Martha and the kids have already said they’re coming over when the baby is born, I hope they still can, seeing as it’s 6 weeks early.” Henry sighs, raking a hand through his hair. 

They decide to wait to call their families and friends until after Dr. Wilson has given Sierra the pitocin. 

About 40 minutes after having the pitocin administered via in IV line in her hand, Sierra starts to feel mild contractions, during which time Henry and Alex take it in turns to slip outside and call their family and let them know what’s going on. Thankfully Oscar is able to watch the girls for them and watch them overnight too, if needs be. He does have to work tomorrow but he says Rafael has offered to watch Ana and Charlotte, if Henry and Alex are still in the hospital, which they likely will be. Alex feels very guilty about shuffling the kids from family member to family member, but he knows they’re probably having the time of their lives, their grandparents spoil them and so will Raf. 

Catherine, Bea, Philip and Martha drop everything in London when Henry tells them what’s going on, and immediately board a flight to DC.

Sierra’s mom is able to stay for the duration of her labor, -which only lasts 6 hours before pushing- but when it comes time to push, she has to leave. 

Everything about this birth is so different from the birth of the girls, though Sierra is still able to have some control over the situation, like having the lights dimmed, having her own pillows from home on the bed, wearing her own hospital gown that Henry and Alex bought for her, instead of a hospital administer one, and having lavender oil in a dispenser going off every few minutes, helping her to relax and stay calm. 

Henry and Alex are on either side of her, Henry holding her hand and Alex switching between holding her other hand, and dabbing a damp washcloth across her forehead, keeping her hair out of her eyes, and calmly and soothingly talking to her and encouraging her, alternating between English and Spanish. 

3 hours into pushing, and Sierra has finally almost given birth. Her epidural has worn off and the pain is pretty intense, she is completely breathless and drenched in sweat but somehow still completely calm,

“Okay Sierra here comes your next contraction, big push for me now.” Dr. Wilson encourages, from the end of the bed.

Sierra takes a deep breath and starts to push again, gripping tightly to Henry’s hand while Alex helps her lean forward like she asked him to. 

“ _Lo estás haciendo tan bien._ ” Alex softly and quietly says, rubbing Sierra’s back soothingly. 

“That was excellent Sierra, baby’s head is crowing, rest now between contractions you’re doing so well.” Dr. Wilson says in a warm tone, smiling up at Sierra. She then looks to Henry and Alex and asks “Do you want to see baby come out?” 

“No!” Sierra loudly protests “They are not looking down there, this baby shooting out of my vagina is now a fucking viewing party!” 

Dr. Wilson just chuckles, having heard way worse in her many years as an OB/GYN. 

“Okay, well here comes your next contraction, lets try and get baby’s head born this time, okay?” Sierra nods and starts to push again, scrunching her face up with effort. 

“Little harder Sierra, just push a little harder for me.” Dr. Wilson calmly says.

“ _Vamos, puedes hacerlo.”_ Alex encourages “ _Empujar, ya casi estás ahí.”_

_“Solo lo quiero fuera.”_ Sierra quietly says in a teary tone, laying back against the pillows as the contraction passes. 

“I know.” Alex quietly says, brushing her hair back. “I know, of course you do. You’ve done so awesome and you still are, what do you think doc, how many more pushes?” Alex asks, looking down at Dr. Wilson. 

“If you keep up the brilliant pushing, I think four more at most, we got baby’s out now the next big goal is his shoulders.” 

“You’ve got four more pushes in you Si, right?” Alex gently asks. Sierra nods, and after taking a deep breath, starts to push again.

Five minutes later, after 4 more massive pushes, Sierra feels a weight lift from her and a low and soft cry rings through the delivery room. 

“Oh my god! Sierra you did it, you amazing, wonderful bloody brilliant woman you did it!” Henry exclaims in a teary tone of relief, squeezing Sierra’s hand, so glad that horrendous pregnancy is over. 

“Sierra, do you want to hold baby while we clean him down?” Dr. Wilson asks, unsure of how the three of them want to handle this, most of her patients do want to hold their babies straight away, but with Sierra being a surrogate it may be different. 

“Can I?” She hopefully asks. She had held Charlotte and Ana right after they were born, the midwife placed Charlotte straight on her chest and then with Ana the midwife handed the little girl right to Sierra, and she, Henry and Alex spent the first 10 or so minutes of the babies lives crying and laughing and fussing over them, together, she so wanted things to be the same this time. 

“Absolutely, here lets put him on your chest and put a blanket over him to help him stay nice and warm.” Dr. Wilson expertly places the tiny baby on Sierra’s chest, before tucking a blanket in around him. She would normally suggest skin-to-skin, but she has a feeling Henry and Alex will want to be the ones to do that.

“Oh.” Sierra quietly says in a disbelieving tone, looking down at the little boy on her chest. “He’s so tiny, is he okay?” 

“Seems so, we’ll run some tests in a bit to be sure but he’s pretty average for a preemie.” Dr. Wilson calmly explains. “Dads would one of you like to cut the cord?” 

“Oh, can I?” Sierra hopefully asks, looking between Henry and Alex. 

“Absolutely.” Henry says, while Alex nods his agreement. Henry had cut Charlotte’s cord and Alex had cut Ana’s, it only seems fair that Sierra do the honors this time. 

Dr. Wilson hands her a pair of scissors and shows her where to cut, so with one hand holding the baby and the other holding the scissors, Sierra cuts the cord. She then looks down at the baby and gently brushes a hand over his few tufts of dark blonde hair. 

“Hello.” She quietly says. “It’s nice to finally meet you, after months of you kicking me in the ribs.” 

“He’s so perfect.” Henry quietly says, his face lighting up when the baby wraps his little hand around Henry’s thumb. 

“You did an amazing job Sierra, I hope all 3 of the kids are as strong and awesome as you.” Alex says in a proud tone, rubbing Sierra’s back and earning a smile from her. 

“Aw you’re sweet, but I can’t take all the credit, Henry helped too.” Sierra says, turning to look at Henry, who wipes at his tears and laughs. 

“Oh please I just wanked off into a cup 8 months ago, you did all the hard work.” 

“What a lovely way to talk about the conception of our child, you hear that Arthur? You hear how your dad talks about how you were made, huh?” Alex laughs, stroking his son’s cheek as he blinks his eyes open. 

“Arthur? That’s his name?” Sierra asks.

“Yeah, we just decided on it last night.” Alex tells her.

“Arthur Oscar Leo Philip Claremont-Diaz-Windsor.” Henry adds. Initially they were only going to give him 2 middle names, Oscar and Philip, but then Alex felt guilty about not including Leo, since Arthur is named after his two other grandfathers, he didn't want Leo to be upset or hurt or think that Alex doesn’t love him or care about him, so they decided to give Arthur a third middle name, thus naming him after all 3 of his grandfathers and his Uncle Philip. 

“ _Oh Dios Mio,_ Arthur you poor baby with such a long name, I suppose that’s what happens when you’re a prince, hm?” Sierra laughs, smiling as little Arthur focuses his attention on her. “Do you want to go to your daddy and papa now, _chico dulce_ huh? Which one of you guys wants to hold him first?” Sierra asks, looking between Henry and Alex. 

“Alex, let Alex hold him first.” Henry insists, like he did with Charlotte and Ana. Since he’s the bio dad he feels it’s important for Alex to have a special moment with their baby and be the first of the two of them to hold him.

Sierra carefully passes Arthur to Alex, who holds him close and tight, his face lighting up when he brings Arthur closer to his chest. 

“ _Hola mi bebe varon,_ I’m so happy you’re finally here, I love you so much, you really are just absolutely perfect. “ Just then Alex feels Henry slips his arm around his waist and rest his chin on Alex’s shoulder. 

“He looks like me.” Henry quietly notes, stroking Arthur’s cheek. He’s kind of thrilled that little Arthur more closely resembles him (though he does have Sierra’s brown skin and big brown eyes.) since the girls look so much like Sierra, with their gorgeous dark brown skin, thick and curly brown and black hair and the most beautiful brown/black eyes you will ever see. He does also love that they resemble Sierra, who looks like she could be Alex’s sister, it means the girls also look like Alex.

“Lucky boy.” Alex smiles, turning to peck a kiss to Henry’s lips. 

The three of them spend the next couple of hours bonding with Arthur and fussing over him, until he has to be brought for some tests, specifically his hearing and vision tests.

Thankfully the tests only take an hour in total, and soon Arthur is brought back to his parents and _Tía_ Sierra (He, like his sisters, will know that Sierra is his bio mom and carried and birthed him, but he’ll know that doesn’t make her his mom.)

About an hour after Arthur has been brought back from his tests, as Alex and Henry sit in chairs by Sierra’s bed, Alex with his top off and Arthur laying comfortably on his chest, wearing just a hat, diaper and blanket, enjoying some skin-to-skin bonding, there is a light knock on the door and a woman with dark skin and natural hair, dressed in deep purple scrubs, steps into the room with a warm smile.

“Hi.” The woman softly says. “I’m Dr. Adair, I’m the Pediatric Chief Medical Officer here, I’ve been assigned to your little boy’s case.” 

“Hi, I’m Sierra, I’m the surrogate.” Sierra cheerfully introduces herself. 

“I’m Henry, the bio dad.” 

“And I’m Alex, the cool and fun dad, and this is Arthur.” Alex concludes, placing a hand on his son’s back and smiling at Dr. Adair. 

“Lovely to meet you all. So I have little Arthur’s test results and I need to go over some things with you.” Dr. Adair explains, shutting the door behind her. 

“Is everything okay?” Henry anxiously asks. 

“Well the good news is that Arthur is a perfectly normal and healthy weight for a preemie, he’s 5lbs 6oz, small but healthy. He has no issues with his lungs or any other vital organs so there’s no need for him to go to NICU. 

However, Arthur did not pass his hearing test and he didn’t do so well in his visual test either. We ran some further tests and it seems that Arthur has not developed his ability to hear, and has no vision in his right eye.” 

There’s silence in the room for a few seconds, before Henry speaks up in a hoarse voice. 

“Is... is there anything in specific we can do for him? To help him?” He asks. 

“Well he could benefit from hearing aids, it won’t take away his inability to hear but they may be able to help him understand speech, combined with visual input like lip-reading and the right environment, you’ll need to work with an audiologist if you choose this route, who will help you design hearing aids specifically for Arthur.

It’s also important you give him communication tools such as sign language, it will be useful for him in many ways, even if does learn to lip read.

As for his visual impairment, since there is no vision at all in the right eye there is not much you can do, he may benefit from glasses when’s older but in my opinion it wouldn’t make a huge difference, the vision in his left eye is absolutely perfect.” 

“So... so the best things to do for him are learn sign language and help him learn sign language and help him learn to lip-read?” Alex asks, now sitting up straight in the chair, holding Arthur protectively close to his chest. 

“Yes that’s right, we can refer you to all the specialists you need and provide you with good resources on learning sign language and teaching it to little Arthur, and your other two children. We can also refer you to a child psychologist who can help explain Arthur’s disabilities to your daughters, if you like.” Dr. Adair offers. 

Henry and Alex exchange a look, and after 8 years of loving eachother, 7 years of being together and 5 years of parenting, they know what the other is thinking without having to ask. 

“Thank you, but we don’t need the help of a psychologist to explain this to the girls, we’ve taught them all about diversity of every kind and they understand people who are deaf and blind, we’ll just need to explain that their brother is deaf and blind in one eye, and involve them in helping him, learning sign language and stuff like that.” Henry determines, reaching out to squeeze Alex’s hand. 

“Alright that’s no problem. Do you have any more questions?” Dr. Adair asks. 

“How long till we can take Arthur home?” Alex eagerly asks. 

“Well we’ve still got a couple more standard tests to run and we would like to keep a closer eye on him because he’s a preemie, but I would say within the next 3 or 4 days.” 

This is some of the best news they’ve heard in months.

Over the next few days they spend most of their days bonding with Arthur and looking for local Sign Language Classes that fit both their schedules, and is also child inclusive and friendly, so Charlotte and Ana can come too, and Arthur. The kids will mainly learn from Henry and Alex and the other adults in their lives but it wouldn’t hurt to bring them along to some classes, either.

When Arthur is two days old, Henry and Alex decide that the easiest and most simple way to tell their family about Arthur’s hearing and visual impairment, is via text in the group chat, instead of countless phone calls.

Shortly after Henry and Alex got engaged, June and Alex added Henry, Catherine, Bea, Philip and Martha to their family group-chat with their mom, dad and Leo. Pez and Nora have also been added since they’re part of the family now too, so they only have to send this message once. 

****

**_Sorry for the lack of updates, been a crazy few days._ **

**_So, our little guy, Arthur Oscar Leo Philip Claremont-Diaz-Windsor was born on September 12th weighing a tiny 5lbs 6oz. Despite being 6 weeks early he’s overall pretty healthy, his lungs and heart are fine as are all his other vital organs._ **

**_The other day we spoke with the chief of Pediatrics here at the hospital, who’s in charge of Arthur’s case for now. She let us know that seemingly because he was born so early, Arthur is blind in one eye and completely deaf. But that’s okay, there’s some things we can do for him, we’re going to meet with an audiologist soon to talk about fitting hearing aids for him, and we’re looking into classes so we can learn sign language for him and in turn teach it to him and the girls, so he can communicate easily._ **

**_There’s not much can be done about his blind eye but it’s okay, he has perfect vision in the other eye and if he has any issues with balance, depth perception or anything like that there’s lots we can do to help him._ **

**_He’s absolutely perfect and we couldn’t love him more, we both know we’re perfectly cable of raising a child with special needs, we made sure of that before we started IVF to have Charlotte. We are just so grateful that Arthur is finally here after a terrifying and complicated pregnancy, and he is for the most part healthy, and a very happy little boy who loves to cuddle and to eat._ **

**_We’re hopeful that we can bring him home tomorrow or the next day, and you can all finally meet him._ **

**_Sierra is doing awesome too, she’s a strong, strong woman and recovering really well. I think she’s already Arthur’s favorite_ Tía, _you got some strong competition June, Nora, Bea and Martha!_**

**_Thank you for all your love and support through this whole thing, it’s meant the world to us._ **

**_Thanks specifically to you dad, for looking after the girls the last 2 nights, it’s been really reassuring to know they’re in safe and loving hands._ **

**_See y’all soon, we love you!_ **

The message is accompanied by a picture of Arthur asleep on Henry’s chest. 

The responses soon start to flood in, with everyone commenting on how perfect and adorable Arthur is and how he looks just like Henry. Everyone also expresses an interest in learning sign language for him, and offers their love and support, and Oscar saying he’s going to do some research for Spanish Sign Language Classes too, so Arthur can be bi-lingual like his sisters. 

Finally after 5 days in hospital, both Sierra and Arthur are discharged and allowed to go home. Henry and Alex offer to drive Sierra home but she insists she’s more than okay with her mom taking her home and staying with her for the next few weeks. Henry and Alex promise to bring the kids to visit all the time and send lots of videos and pictures and keep her updated on everything. 

When they finally get to bring Arthur home, the girls are all over him, as is David. Charlotte and Ana only got to meet him once, when he was 3 days old and were immediately infatuated with him and eager to see him again and have him home. 

Now as Alex gently unbuckles and lifts Arthur from his baby carrier, Ana hurries up to him with David by her side, as always. 

“Papa!” Ana exclaims in a breathless tone, having just run from one end of the house to the other, having let David in from outside. 

“What’s up _mi bebé_?” Alex cheerfully asks, turning to face his daughter, with Arthur held against his shoulder. 

“Day-Day want meet Arthur!” Ana exclaims, her arms slung over David’s back while the beagle happily wags his tail back and forth. 

“Does he now?” Alex asks, patting Arthur’s back. Ana nods. 

“Do you want to help us introduce them, love?” Henry asks, coming over to join his husband and children. Ana’s face lights up and she nods enthusiastically. 

“Okay, you stay beside me, I’m going to hold David’s collar in case he gets too excited and tries to jump on the baby, while papa lets David see Arthur, okay?” Henry gently explains, kneeling beside Ana and David.

“Uh-hu!” So Henry gently but firmly grasps David’s collar, while Alex slowly crouches down to the dog’s level, lowering Arthur so David can see him. David immediately starts to sniff curiously at the bundle of blankets containing Arthur. 

“Day-Day be nice!” Ana orders. “This Arthur, he baby not toy, okay?” David turns to Ana and sniffs her for a second, before licking her cheek, making her giggle and throw her arms around him in a hug. “Silly Day-Day!” She exclaims. 

Henry and Alex exchange a smile, so grateful to be here in this moment, a moment they weren’t sure they would ever get, after the horrors of Sierra’s pregnancy. 

Though little do they know that the struggle is far from over. 


	4. Arthur Oscar Leo Philip Claremont-Diaz-Windsor, Part 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After suffering with chronic pain his whole life, 16 year old Arthur finally gets a diagnoses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW/CW**
> 
> Medical talk.   
> Doctors not listening to/ believing their patients.   
> Cancer. 
> 
> *DISCLAIMER* 
> 
> I am not blind or deaf, nor do I have EDS, I based all of this off research and online personalities such as Jessica Kelgren-Fozard, who have EDS, are blind in one eye and deaf.

16 years ago on a warm May day in 2028, Arthur Claremont-Diaz was born, completing his family and changing their lives forever, in the best way possible. 

Now 16 years later, Arthur is thriving, growing up into an amazing and wonderful young man. Henry and Alex worried greatly for Arthur when he was born, seeing as he was and is blind in one eye and totally deaf, they feared it would impact his life negatively, but it hasn’t, not for the most part.

Arthur has never known any different, he’s never known what it’s like to have hearing or full vision, and he has full access to the best healthcare he could ask for, having several pairs of custom-made hearing aids that work in a plethora of different ways and suit a variety of different situations, he’s also known ASL, BSL and Spanish Sign Language practically his whole life.

His big sisters Charlotte and Ana have always been fiercely protective of him, not just because of his disabilities but because he’s their baby brother and both girls are fiercely loyal and protective, just like their dads. 

However one thing that has always bothered Arthur is his seemingly unexplained chronic pain and how easily he sprains a limb. For as long as he can remember Arthur has always had aching legs and hips, as well as frequent and chronic headaches and stomach issues too. His parents have taken him to countless doctors but no one has been able to give them an explanation and it is incredibly frustrating and difficult on Arthur, being in pain all day everyday is extremely depressing and makes Arthur worry that he won’t be able to do all the things he wants to do in his life, like travel, read a book a day for a whole year, and more.

Henry and Alex absolutely hate seeing their baby suffer, they both wish they could do something for him, as the Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex surely they should be able to get their kid a diagnosis? 

It is a warm June day in 2044, when they attempt to do so once again. 

Arthur has not gone to school today because his pain levels are too high, he came down for breakfast at 7 and looked absolutely awful, he was so pale looking with big dark circles under his eyes and he kept yawning. He told Henry and Alex that because of his pain he only slept for 2 broken hours, after which they insisted he stay home. 

Since Charlotte is in NY for work and Ana is at university all day, both Henry and Alex decided they needed to take the day off work and stay home to care for Arthur, he may be 16 but he’s still their baby. 

Alex has just gotten back from walking one of their foster dogs, a big old love ball German Shepard who’s name is Thor (That one was their niece Mía’s idea, even though she’s only 9 she absolutely loves Norse Mythology, June blames Alex because while she was sick when pregnant with Mía and he would come over to help take care of her while Pez and Nora took care of their son Mateo, he made her watch all the Thor Marvel movies with him, she says that after hearing practically nothing but the 4 Thor movies for a week, Mía was destined to become a little Norse Mythology nerd.) 

When Alex steps inside he sees Arthur sitting on the sofa, looking pretty miserable, his golden hair rumpled and unwashed, his skin still pale and he still looks so tired. 

Alex lets Thor off the leash before walking over to his son and tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention. 

“Hey _mijo_.” Alex softly says, while signing along too, knowing that when he’s very tired like this, Arthur prefers people sign to him, instead of him having to read their lips. “You okay? Feeling any better?” 

Arthur sighs and shakes his head, running a hand over his face, before looking back up at Alex. 

“I came downstairs to get some water but now my hips and legs hurt so bad I know I’m not going to be able to walk up the stairs again.” He tells him, also signing along out of habit. 

“Where’s your cane?” Alex asks, looking around for the walking cane they bought Arthur a couple of months ago to help him somewhat with his pain when walking, and to help him keep his balance. 

“Left it upstairs, in my room, I thought I’d be okay just coming downstairs and then going back up, I usually am, but... not now.” hearing the upset and hurt in Arthur’s tone makes Alex want to cry, his poor baby deserves so much better. 

“Do you want me to make another appointment with your doctor? Maybe if we keep at them they’ll finally refer you to a pain specialist or something.” Alex suggests. Arthur nods. 

“Even if she just gives me some pain medication I’ll be happy.” 

Just then Thor jumps up onto the sofa beside them, trying to fit into Arthur’s lap, Thor doesn’t seem to realize he’s not a puppy, despite the fact that he acts like one. 

Arthur laughs as Thor sniffs at him and licks his face, clearly happy to see one of his beloved humans, all their foster animals tend to prefer Ana since she’s the animal lover of the family, but Thor loves anyone who’ll pet him and love on him. 

Leaving Arthur and Thor to it, Alex slips into the kitchen and makes an appointment for Arthur, in two hours, then heads upstairs to tell Henry.

Two hours later they find themselves sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, Arthur nervously bouncing his leg, obviously pretty nervous. 

Henry places a gentle hand on his son’s leg to get his attention, then signs

_‘Sure you don’t want us to come in with you?’_ Sometimes Arthur still asks for he and Alex to go into medical appointments with him, especially when it’s with someone who doesn’t sign, and he has to rely on lip-reading, which can be hard if the person speaks too fast, the lighting isn’t good, they’re too far away, etc. It can be easier to have his parents there to interpret for him. However this particular doctor, (a family medicine doctor) _does_ sign, so Arthur is happy to go in on his own. 

He nods and signs ‘ _I’m sure, thanks.’_

‘ _Okay, just let us know if you change your mind_ , _we’ll be here the whole time.’_

Just then the doctor steps out of her office, and calls out Arthur’s name (rather pointless since he’s deaf, which she knows, or she should.) 

“Artie.” Alex lightly taps his son on the shoulder, and indicates the doctor standing in the doorway, when Arthur turns to face him. 

Arthur pushes himself up with the use of his cane and limps across the floor toward the doctor, it breaks Henry and Alex’s heart to see him limping like that. He’s only 16 he should not be in this much pain. 

“I’m so worried about him Hen.” Alex sighs, leaning into his husband and resting his head on his shoulder. Henry puts his arm around Alex and kisses the top of his head. 

“Me too, I can’t help fearing the worst, that it’s cancer of some sort. One of the first symptoms dad had before he was diagnosed was chronic stomach pain, and Arthur’s been complaining of stomach pain more and more lately, dad wanted to do genetic testing before he died, to know whether the cancer could be passed on to Pip, Bea or I, or any of our kids, but he deteriorated too quickly.” Even though it’s been almost 30 years since his dad died, Henry still finds it immensely painful to talk about, he still misses him every single day and wishes more than anything, that he could have met Alex and the kids. 

“Oh H, oh god it never even occurred to me that you would think like that, but of course you would, oh baby I’m so sorry. But, I think Arthur would be a lot more ill if he did have cancer, I know it’s scary seeing our boy go through this much pain, it’s absolutely horrendous, but one way or another we’re gonna get him help. If we can’t get help here in The States maybe we could try London?” Alex is now holding Henry tightly, running a hand through his hair to soothe him. 

“It’s alright love, you don’t need to apologize, of course it’s not the first thing you think of, I think of it first because I’ve already seen a loved one go through it, you haven’t. And your right, no matter what we won’t stop fighting for a diagnosis and help for Arthur, Sierra fought like hell to bring him into the world and now we’re going to fight like hell to give him the life we promised her we would.” 

Though Sierra doesn’t see Charlotte, Ana and Arthur as her own children, she does love them fiercely and is extremely protective of them, the only promise she made Henry and Alex make to her, before agreeing to be their surrogate, was that they would give any and all kids their best chance at life, no matter what, never stop loving them, never stop fighting for them, and more. It was an easy promise to make and not one they intend to break, ever. 

About 15 minutes later Arthur emerges from the doctor’s office and limps back over to Henry and Alex before promptly collapsing into a chair between them, wincing when he feels the impact in his back. 

_‘How did it go?’_ Henry signs, helping Arthur to sit in a more comfortable position. It’s only then he notices the tears rolling down his son’s face. 

_‘Awful, shit.’_ Arthur signs vigorously. 

“What happened _, mijo?_ ” Alex gently asks. 

“Tell you in the car, I don’t want to talk about it in public.” Arthur’s voice is strained and hoarse, it’s clear he’s extremely upset. Henry and Alex exchange a worried look but of course they aren’t going to force Arthur to talk right now if he doesn’t want to. 

“Okay love, do you want to wait here and I’ll pull the car round?” Henry asks. Arthur shakes his head, golden curls flying every which way. 

“No, I took two extra-strength painkillers before we left, they’re working now so I can walk a bit easier, I want to be in the fresh air.” He tells them, wiping at his tears. 

“Okay then, lets go.” 

It takes 5 minutes to get back to the car, by which time poor Arthur is still crying. 

“Do you wanna talk about it, Artie?” Alex gently asks, looking at his son in the rear view mirror, as he and Henry do up their seat belts. 

Arthur lets out a shaky breath and wipes at his tears again, before speaking. 

“She said that my chronic pain is part of puberty, told me to exercise, eat healthy and get a good amount of sleep. T-then she said m-my hyper-mobility and stuff is because I’m ‘Triple jointed’ whatever the fuck that means.” Arthur’s hyper-mobility hasn’t exactly been an issue, but its a mystery to them all. His skin is very elastic like and stretchy, he’s 16 but looks about 14, and can do all sorts of odd things that not many others can, as a little kid he loved to freak his sisters out by pulling his thumb right back, till it touched his wrist. 

“Oh love.” Henry turns around to face Arthur, so he can sign to him and Arthur can lip-read. _‘Do you want your papa and I to speak to your doctor?’_ he offers. This is what they had to do for Charlotte when was 18 and having severe chronic pelvic pain, no doctor would take her seriously, until her parents The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex demanded answers for their daughter, then it only took 2 days for her to be diagnosed with endometriosis. 

_‘No.’_ Arthur signs, sniffling again. “I want the doctor to listen to me, and what I’m telling them and my experiences, not my parents status and money. I know that worked for Lottie and I’m glad, but... I don’t wanna do that, not yet anyway.” 

Henry reaches out and affectionately brushes a lock of Arthur’s hair back from his face. 

“Okay love, we understand and respect that, just know that if you ever change your mind all you need to do is let us know, and we’ll be on it straight away.” 

6 months later, Arthur’s health issues all come to a head, when Henry and Alex receive a phone call from Arthur’s school nurse.

Alex has just finished a meeting with a client, when his phone starts to vibrate.

“Hello?” He answers, having not looked at the caller ID before picking up.

“Mr. Claremont-Diaz-Windsor?” an unfamiliar feminine voice asks.

“Which one?” Alex can’t resist.

“Oh, um, D-Duke of Sussex?” The voice stammers in embarrassment, Alex has to bite back a laugh. 

“That’s me, what’d my kid do?” Alex sighs, having plenty of experience of being called to the school before, when Ana was there, she is definitely the troublemaker of the 3, not a bad kid but extremely mischievous.

He and Henry were called there for numerous reasons over the years, mostly because Ana always talked back to teachers, but sometimes for other things, like when she was caught skipping class, and the time she called another kid a ‘Ignorant un-evolved fuckwad’ for making some homophobic comments about Henry and Alex (Both of them were honestly more impressed with her ability to curse than mad at her.)

“Oh no sir, he’s not in trouble at all but you do need to come collect him, he seems to have had a chronic pain flare up in his arm.” The nurse tells him, making Alex drop his smile. 

“ _Shit_.” He swears under his breath. “Okay, we’ll be there as soon as possible, tell Artie we’re coming.” He hangs up before starting to search for his keys, and calling out to Henry. 

“Henry!” Alex calls, moving a pile of Ana’s textbooks, to see if his keys are underneath. 

“Dad’s on the phone with Uncle Shaan.” Alex hears Ana’s familiar voice tell him. He looks up to see her leaning down over the banister, almost giving him a heart attack, if _he_ was a reckless kid, there are no words to describe Ana. 

“Hey be careful, don’t lean over that far!” He warns. “Also tell your dad it’s an emergency, Arthur’s had a pain flare up we need to get to him.” At the mention of her baby brother being in pain, Ana rushes into action, darting into Henry’s office without knocking or waiting for him to stop speaking for a second.

“Dad you have to come right now, papa says it’s Arthur, he’s hurt he had a pain flare up!” Ana exclaims, her chest tightening with anxiety and worry for her baby brother. 

Henry's eyes widen in alarm.

“Shaan I’m sorry but I have to go, family emergency. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.” He quickly hangs up the phone, grabs his jacket and races out of his office and down the stairs. 

20 minutes later Henry and Alex are being shown to the nurse’s office at Arthur’s school, while Ana waits in the car. 

When they step into the room, they see Arthur siting in a chair, cradling his right arm in his left, his head back against the wall, eyes closed and face scrunched up in pain. They both rush to his side. 

“Artie, are you okay mate, what’s happened?” Henry asks in a concerned tone, placing a hand on Arthur’s arm to get his attention, before speaking. 

“Don’t know.” Arthur says in a breathy tone. “I was writing an essay for History, and at first the pain was the normal kind I get after writing for a while, but then it got worse and worse and shot up my arm, a-and now I can’t move my arm or my hand at all.” 

“Right, where are you things? We need to go to hospital.” 

They head straight to the emergency room from the school, hoping that Arthur will be seen pretty quickly. However after 4 hours they’re still there. Henry and Alex have tried to explain the severity of Arthur’s case, and tried to explain that they’re members of The Royal Family and that Alex is a former FSOTUS, but here status doesn’t mean shit, and when they think about it, that is pretty fair. 

Finally, after 6 hours of waiting, Arthur’s name is called. This time he has requested that Henry and Alex come with him, Ana would have too but she had to go home to feed and walk Thor, feed her bearded dragon (because of course their daughter convinced them to let her have a reptile in the house) and take care of their two foster cats, Dwight and Aaron Purr. 

After an initial assessment, The Doctor (Dr. Monroe) sends Arthur for an x-ray, and also does some blood tests and other lab work.

Thankfully the results don’t take too long to come in, and soon Dr. Monroe is back to talk to them. 

“Okay, sorry that was all a bit of a rush, I really needed to get those tests done to help with a diagnoses. Now that we’re all a bit more calm and I have time to talk, Arthur, do you prefer to lip-read, or for me to sign?” Dr. Monroe asks, after setting the chart with the results down and turning to look straight at Arthur. 

‘ _Prefer to sign right now, lights are too bright and it’s too noisy for lip-reading._ ’ Arthur tells her, signing because he’s too tired to talk, and sign comes easier to him. 

“Okay no problem, is it okay if your dads stay or would you like to speak with me alone?” She asks, while also signing. Arthur is really beginning to like this doctor

‘ _They can stay, want them to_.’ Arthur tells her. 

“Okay, well from your x-ray and the initial physical exam I did, I can tell you for certain that you have a severe sprain in your arm due to prolonged strain on the muscles, which seem very weak to me.” Dr. Monroe begins, signing along flawlessly. “You will very likely regain movement in your arm once it’s healed, and in order for it to do so I’m going to have you ice it for 15 to 20 minutes every 2 or so hours, for the first few days, to help keep swelling down. I’m also prescribing you rest for the arm, no using it at all. Then I’m going to put a compression bandage on it which will also help keep swelling down, and then I’m going to put your arm in a sling to elevate it, I’m also prescribing you painkillers, to keep you comfortable.

Does that all sound good to you?” 

Arthur is thrilled to finally be given proper medical attention, he has no words so he just nods. 

“Awesome, anything else you wanna ask me?” 

Arthur hesitates for a second, before deciding to go ahead with what he wants to say. 

‘ _I have chronic pain,so bad I can’t walk without my cane. Always in some kind of pain and painkillers don’t do much, also really hyper mobile and flexible, look._ ’ Arthur then grabs his thumb and bends it all the way back to his wrist. ‘ _What’s wrong with me?’_

“Hm, I don’t have your medical records on file here, do you get sprains often and easily, and the pain is mostly in your joints and limbs?” Dr. Monroe asks. Arthur nods vigorously, glad to not have been brushed off. “Do you bruise easily and is your skin very loose and elastic like?” Again Arthur nods, this time pulling at the skin on his arm which stretches like putty. “And one more thing, do you have digestive issues?” 

_‘Yes! Yes all of that!’_ Arthur signs, using his good hand this isn’t paralyzed and sprained. 

“That sounds to me exactly like Elhers Danlos Syndrome, do you know what that is?” Dr. Monroe asks. 

“Yes!” Arthur speaks up, his voice hoarse. “We watched a documentary about it one day, right dad, papa?” Arthur asks, looking to his parents, remembering them all agreeing it would be something interesting to watch.

“Yes, that’s right we did.” Alex agrees. 

“Is that what I have, EDS?” Arthur asks, turning back to Dr. Monroe, who nods. 

“I would be shocked if it was anything else.” 

“But... but there’s no history of EDS in my family, that we know of, nor Sierra’s ,Arthur’s bio mum.” Henry stammers in confusion. “Isn’t it inherited?” 

“Mostly, but not all the time, EDS is caused by a mutation in the genes, sometimes it just occurs in a person for no specific reason.” Dr. Monroe informs them. 

So, can you help me? With my pain and stuff?” Arthur hopefully asks.

“Absolutely, I can prescribe you medication to handle the pain, and I’m also going to refer you to physical therapy to help strengthen your joints and muscles, there’s no cure for EDS but there’s plenty we can do to help.” 

Arthur feels like he could cry with joy and relief at finally having a diagnoses, after 16 years of this crap he finally knows what’s going on and why, and he can get help. 

From that day forward things seem a little bit easier, Arthur still has to deal with his chronic pain, he still gets frequent sprains and injuries (thought not as frequently.) he still needs his cane sometimes, but the PT has helped him be able to walk short distances without it.

Over the next few years Arthur works his ass off, studying hard to maintain a good GPA, working non-stop on his PT, taking his pain meds when he needs to, etc. 

At 18 Arthur graduates with an amazing 4.0 GPA, and is able to enjoy his graduation ceremony almost totally pain free. 

His whole family on both sides are in the crowd of course, as well as many Secret Service agents and PPOs, but he doesn’t mind. Cash, Amy, Shaan, they’ve all seen him grow up, Shaan is like an Uncle to him, someone who has always loved him and supported him, stood up from him and helped him. .

They have a family celebration afterwards, back home, a barbecue, courtesy of his _abuelo._

As Arthur stands in the midst of the party, watching his cousin Andrew (his Uncle Pip and Aunt Martha’s youngest son, being only a year older than Arthur) flirting terribly with Max Srivastava, Zahra and Shaan’s son, he feels a hand land on his arm, and turns to see his Uncle Pez standing there smiling brightly at him. 

_‘Well done today mate’_ He signs ‘ _Always knew you were a clever clogs, like your dad, I’m really proud of you.’_ Arthur beams brightly 

“Thanks!” He says. 

_‘Do you know what you want to study in uni_?’ Pez asks, raising an eyebrow in question. Just then, Arthur spots his dad walking up to join he and Pez, and he knows this is the perfect moment to reveal his plans for uni. 

Looking straight at Henry, he smiles even brighter and says 

“Yeah, I’m going to study English Lit, like grandma and dad.” 


End file.
